InteractInteraction mechanism of emergency response in geological hazard perception and risk management: a case study in Zhouqu county

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Yuan; Zhao, Hongtao

2017-04-01

China is one of few several natural disaster prone countries, which has complex geological and geographical environment and abnormal climate. On August 8, 2010, a large debris flow disaster happened in Zhouqu Country, Gansu province, resulting in more than 1700 casualties and more than 200 buildings damaged. In order to percept landslide and debris flow, an early warning system was established in the county. Spatial information technologies, such as remote sensing, GIS, and GPS, play core role in the early warning system, due to their functions in observing, analyzing, and locating geological disasters. However, all of these spatial information technologies could play an important role only guided by the emergency response mechanism. This article takes the establishment of Zhouqu Country's Disaster Emergency Response Interaction Mechanism (DERIM) as an example to discuss the risk management of country-level administrative units. The country-level risk management aims to information sharing, resources integration, integrated prevention and unified command. Then, nine subsystems support DERIM, which included disaster prevention and emergency data collection and sharing system, joint duty system, disaster verification and evaluation system, disaster consultation system, emergency warning and information release system, emergency response system, disaster reporting system, plan management system, mass prediction and prevention management system. At last, an emergency command platform in Zhouqu Country built up to realize DERIM. The core mission of the platform consists of daily management of disaster, monitoring and warning, comprehensive analysis, information release, consultation and decision-making, emergency response, etc. Five functional modules, including module of disaster information management, comprehensive monitoring module (geological monitoring, meteorological monitoring, water conservancy and hydrological monitoring), alarm management module, emergency command and disaster dispatching management module are developed on the basis of this platform. Based on the internet technology, an web-based office platform is exploited for the nodes scattered in departments and towns, which includes daily business, monitoring and warning, alarm notification, alarm recording, personnel management and update in disaster region, query and analysis of real-time observation data, etc. The platform experienced 3 years' test of the duty in flood period since 2013, and two typical disaster cases during this period fully illustrates the effectiveness of the DERIM and the emergency command platform.

Drunk driving warning system (DDWS). Volume 1, System concept and description

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1983-11-01

The Drunk Driving Warning System (DDWS) is a vehicle-mounted device for testing driver impairment and activating alarms. The driver must pass a steering competency test in order to drive the car in a normal manner. The emergency flasher system operat...

The effectiveness of physiologically based early warning or track and trigger systems after triage in adult patients presenting to emergency departments: a systematic review.

PubMed

Wuytack, Francesca; Meskell, Pauline; Conway, Aislinn; McDaid, Fiona; Santesso, Nancy; Hickey, Fergal G; Gillespie, Paddy; Raymakers, Adam J N; Smith, Valerie; Devane, Declan

2017-12-06

Changes to physiological parameters precede deterioration of ill patients. Early warning and track and trigger systems (TTS) use routine physiological measurements with pre-specified thresholds to identify deteriorating patients and trigger appropriate and timely escalation of care. Patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) are undiagnosed, undifferentiated and of varying acuity, yet the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of using early warning systems and TTS in this setting is unclear. We aimed to systematically review the evidence on the use, development/validation, clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of physiologically based early warning systems and TTS for the detection of deterioration in adult patients presenting to EDs. We searched for any study design in scientific databases and grey literature resources up to March 2016. Two reviewers independently screened results and conducted quality assessment. One reviewer extracted data with independent verification of 50% by a second reviewer. Only information available in English was included. Due to the heterogeneity of reporting across studies, results were synthesised narratively and in evidence tables. We identified 6397 citations of which 47 studies and 1 clinical trial registration were included. Although early warning systems are increasingly used in EDs, compliance varies. One non-randomised controlled trial found that using an early warning system in the ED may lead to a change in patient management but may not reduce adverse events; however, this is uncertain, considering the very low quality of evidence. Twenty-eight different early warning systems were developed/validated in 36 studies. There is relatively good evidence on the predictive ability of certain early warning systems on mortality and ICU/hospital admission. No health economic data were identified. Early warning systems seem to predict adverse outcomes in adult patients of varying acuity presenting to the ED but there is a lack of high quality comparative studies to examine the effect of using early warning systems on patient outcomes. Such studies should include health economics assessments.

Warning Signs of Childhood Emergencies

MedlinePlus

... Health & Safety Tips » Warning Signs of Childhood Emergencies Warning Signs of Childhood Emergencies Because their bodies are ... if your child exhibits any of the following warning signs of a medical emergency: Any significant change ...

The Global Emergency Observation and Warning System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bukley, Angelia P.; Mulqueen, John A.

1994-01-01

Based on an extensive characterization of natural hazards, and an evaluation of their impacts on humanity, a set of functional technical requirements for a global warning and relief system was developed. Since no technological breakthroughs are required to implement a global system capable of performing the functions required to provide sufficient information for prevention, preparedness, warning, and relief from natural disaster effects, a system is proposed which would combine the elements of remote sensing, data processing, information distribution, and communications support on a global scale for disaster mitigation.

Human Response to Emergency Warning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sorensen, J.

2009-12-01

Almost every day people evacuate from their homes, businesses or other sites, even ships, in response to actual or predicted threats or hazards. Evacuation is the primary protective action utilized in large-scale emergencies such as hurricanes, floods, tornados, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, or wildfires. Although often precautionary, protecting human lives by temporally relocating populations before or during times of threat remains a major emergency management strategy. One of the most formidable challenges facing emergency officials is evacuating residents for a fast-moving and largely unpredictable event such as a wildfire or a local tsunami. How to issue effective warnings to those at risk in time for residents to take appropriate action is an on-going problem. To do so, some communities have instituted advanced communications systems that include reverse telephone call-down systems or other alerting systems to notify at-risk residents of imminent threats. This presentation examines the effectiveness of using reverse telephone call-down systems for warning San Diego residents of wildfires in the October of 2007. This is the first systematic study conducted on this topic and is based on interviews with 1200 households in the evacuation areas.

Joint NOAA/NWS/USGS prototype debris flow warning system for recently burned areas in Southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Restrepo, P.; Jorgensen, D.P.; Cannon, S.H.; Costa, J.; Laber, J.; Major, J.; Martner, B.; Purpura, J.; Werner, K.

2008-01-01

Debris flows, also known as mudslides, are composed gravity-driven mixtures of sediment and water that travel through steep channels, over open hillslopes, and the like. Addressing this issue, US Geological Survey (USGS) and NOAA have established a debris-flow warning system that has the ability to monitor and forecast precipitation and issue timely weather hazard warning. In 2005, this joint NOAA-USGS prototype debris-flow warning system was issued in Southern California and as a result, it has provided valuable information to emergency managers in affected communities.

A Hole in the Weather Warning System.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wood, Vincent T.; Weisman, Robert A.

2003-02-01

lack of text information. These problems had forced deaf and hard of hearing people to rely on looking at the sky or having hearing people alert them as their primary methods of receiving emergency information. These problems are documented through the use of a survey of 277 deaf and hard of hearing people in Minnesota and Oklahoma as well as specific examples.During the last two years, some progress has been made to "close this hole" in the weather warning system. The Federal Communications Commission has approved new rules, requiring that all audio emergency information provided by television stations, satellite, and cable operators must also be provided visually. In addition, the use of new technology such as pager systems, weather radios adapted for use by those with special needs, the Internet, and satellite warning systems have allowed deaf and hard of hearing people to have more access to emergency information.In this article, these improvements are documented but continuing problems and possible solutions are also listed.

Exploring Vital Sign Data Quality in Electronic Health Records with Focus on Emergency Care Warning Scores.

PubMed

Skyttberg, Niclas; Chen, Rong; Blomqvist, Hans; Koch, Sabine

2017-08-30

Computerized clinical decision support and automation of warnings have been advocated to assist clinicians in detecting patients at risk of physiological instability. To provide reliable support such systems are dependent on high-quality vital sign data. Data quality depends on how, when and why the data is captured and/or documented. This study aims to describe the effects on data quality of vital signs by three different types of documentation practices in five Swedish emergency hospitals, and to assess data fitness for calculating warning and triage scores. The study also provides reference data on triage vital signs in Swedish emergency care. We extracted a dataset including vital signs, demographic and administrative data from emergency care visits (n=335027) at five Swedish emergency hospitals during 2013 using either completely paper-based, completely electronic or mixed documentation practices. Descriptive statistics were used to assess fitness for use in emergency care decision support systems aiming to calculate warning and triage scores, and data quality was described in three categories: currency, completeness and correctness. To estimate correctness, two further categories - plausibility and concordance - were used. The study showed an acceptable correctness of the registered vital signs irrespectively of the type of documentation practice. Completeness was high in sites where registrations were routinely entered into the Electronic Health Record (EHR). The currency was only acceptable in sites with a completely electronic documentation practice. Although vital signs that were recorded in completely electronic documentation practices showed plausible results regarding correctness, completeness and currency, the study concludes that vital signs documented in Swedish emergency care EHRs cannot generally be considered fit for use for calculation of triage and warning scores. Low completeness and currency were found if the documentation was not completely electronic.

Emergency vehicle traffic signal preemption system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Foster, Conrad F. (Inventor); Bachelder, Aaron D. (Inventor)

2005-01-01

An emergency vehicle traffic light preemption system for preemption of traffic lights at an intersection to allow safe passage of emergency vehicles. The system includes a real-time status monitor of an intersection which is relayed to a communications controller for transmission to emergency vehicles as well as to a central dispatch office. The system also provides for audio warnings at an intersection to protect pedestrians who may not be in a position to see visual warnings or for various reasons cannot hear the approach of emergency vehicles. A transponder mounted on an emergency vehicle provides autonomous control so the vehicle operator can attend to getting to an emergency and not be concerned with the operation of the system. Activation of a Code 3 situation provides communications with each intersection being approached by an emergency vehicle and indicates whether the intersection is preempted or if there is any conflict with other approaching emergency vehicles. On-board diagnostics handle various information including heading, speed, and acceleration sent to a communications controller which is transmitted to an intersection and which also simultaneously receives information regarding the status of an intersection.

Seismic Activity: Public Alert and Warning: Legal Implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zocchetti, D.

2007-12-01

As science and technology evolve in ways that increase our ability to inform the public of potentially destructive seismic activity, there are significant legal issues for consideration. Even though countries and even states within the United States have differing legal tenets that could either change or at least re-shape the outcome of specific legal questions that this session will be pondering, there are fundamental legal principals that will permeate. It is often said that the law lags behind society and in particular its technological developments. No doubt in the area of warning the public of impending destructive forces of nature or society, the law will need to do some catching up. The law is probably adequately developed for at least some preliminary discussion of the key issues. No matter the legal scheme, if there is a failure or perceived failure in the system to warn people of a pending emergencies, albeit an earthquake, tsunami, or other predictable event, those who are harmed or believe they are harmed will seek relief under the law. Every day there are situations wherein the failure to warn or to adequately warn is key, such as with faulty or defective consumer products, escaped prisoners, and police high-speed vehicle chases. With alert and warning systems for disaster, however, we have a unique set of facts. Generally, the systems and their failures occur during emergencies or at least during situations under apparently exigent circumstances when the disaster's predictability is widely recognized as less than 100 percent. The law, in particular United States tort law, has been particularly lenient when people and organizations are operating during compressed timeframes and their actions are generally considered necessary to address circumstances relative to public safety. The legal system has been forgiving when the actor that failed or appeared to fail was government. The courts have liberally applied the principal of sovereign immunity to governmental actions during emergency situations. At a minimum, the courts have shown a high degree of deference and provided immunity protection for discretionary governmental actions. For example, government organizations are often protected from legal redress for making basic policy decisions such as whether or not to implement an early warning system for emergency actions. Some national and state governments, however, have gone further to provide a legal shield of immunity through specific statutory enactments. Statutory protections generally extend to both the governmental organizations and the decision makers therein. In contrast, these protections are not always extended to third parties such as private businesses, which are often part of the chain of people and organizations that are critical for providing emergency notifications to the public. These businesses include the warning devices manufacturers, the communications systems installers, the software developers, and many other non-governmental parties essential to notifying the public. It can be argued that the legal risk in providing these private sector products or services serves to ensure their quality. But these businesses' real or perceived risk of liability could dissuade their participation in the notification system, or at least chill their innovation. Those involved in designing, developing, implementing, and operating emergency notification systems must consider how their unique situation will be impacted and potentially altered by the legal environment, or in some cases how they should affect change to that legal environment in order to have successful warning systems.

The Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) adaption in National Early Warning Alerting Systems of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Chao

2017-04-01

The Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) [1] is an XML-based data format for exchanging public warnings and emergencies between alerting technologies. In China, from local communities to entire nations, there was a patchwork of specialized hazard public alerting systems. And each system was often designed just for certain emergency situations and for certain communications media. Application took place in the NEWAS (National Early Warning Alerting Systems) [2]project where CAP serves as central message to integrate all kind of hazard situations, including the natural calamity, accident disaster, public health emergency , social safety etc. Officially operated on May 2015, NEWAS now has completed docking work with 14 departments including civil administration, safety supervision, forestry, land, water conservancy, earthquake, traffic, meteorology, agriculture, tourism, food and drug supervision, public security and oceanic administration. Thus, several items in CAP has been modified, redefined and extended according to the various grading standards and publishing strategies, as well as the characteristics of Chinese Geocoding. NEWAS successfully delivers information to end users through 4 levels (i.e. State, province, prefecture and county) structure and by various means. [1] CAP, http://www.oasis-emergency.org/cap [2] http://www.12379.cn/

Federal Emergency Management and Homeland Security Organization: Historical Developments and Legislative Options

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-06-01

nuclear disaster warning systems,” and “preparedness and planning to reduce the consequences of major terrorist incidents.” In addition, the order...assistance functions,” in addition to dam safety, “natural and nuclear disaster warning systems,” and “the coordination of preparedness and planning to

Developing effective warning systems: Ongoing research at Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leonard, Graham S.; Johnston, David M.; Paton, Douglas; Christianson, Amy; Becker, Julia; Keys, Harry

2008-05-01

PurposeThis paper examines the unique challenges to volcanic risk management associated with having a ski area on an active volcano. Using a series of simulated eruption/lahar events at Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand, as a context, a model of risk management that integrates warning system design and technology, risk perceptions and the human response is explored. Principal resultsDespite increases in the observed audibility and comprehension of the warning message, recall of public education content, and people's awareness of volcanic risk, a persistent minority of the public continued to demonstrate only moderate awareness of the correct actions to take during a warning and failed to respond effectively. A relationship between level of staff competence and correct public response allowed the level of public response to be used to identify residual risk and additional staff training needs. The quality of staff awareness, action and decision-making has emerged as a critical factor, from detailed staff and public interviews and from exercise observations. Staff actions are especially important for mobilising correct public response at Ruapehu ski areas due to the transient nature of the visitor population. Introduction of education material and staff training strategies that included the development of emergency decision-making competencies improved knowledge of correct actions, and increased the proportion of people moving out of harm's way during blind tests. Major conclusionsWarning effectiveness is a function of more than good hazard knowledge and the generation and notification of an early warning message. For warning systems to be effective, these factors must be complemented by accurate knowledge of risk and risk management actions. By combining the Ruapehu findings with those of other warning system studies in New Zealand, and internationally, a practical five-step model for effective early warning systems is discussed. These steps must be based upon sound and regularly updated underpinning science and be tied to formal effectiveness evaluation, which is fed back into system improvements. The model presented emphasises human considerations, the development of which arguably require even more effort than the hardware components of early warning systems.

Proceeding With Caution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

E-ViEWS was developed with assistance from the Technology Affiliates Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The system incorporates JPL expertise in the areas of systems engineering, transportation systems, antennas, controls, optical displays, and mechanical systems. It consists of three modules that streamline traffic flow in the presence of emergency vehicles, and act as a guardrail to protect today's motorists from distractions that could result in serious accidents. Although emergency vehicles use sirens and flashing lights to warn others as they rapidly pass through intersections, some drivers may be oblivious to the emergency situation at hand, due to factors such as car radios, cellular phones, air conditioning, rolled-up windows, vehicle sound proofing, and hearing impairment. The company has also the company has launched testing efforts for Intellirail, a highly intelligent locomotive warning system that is based on the JPL/E-ViEWS preemption emergency vehicle platform.

Enhanced early warning system impact on nursing practice: A phenomenological study.

PubMed

Burns, Kathleen A; Reber, Tracey; Theodore, Karen; Welch, Brenda; Roy, Debra; Siedlecki, Sandra L

2018-05-01

To determine how an enhanced early warning system has an impact on nursing practice. Early warning systems score physiologic measures and alert nurses to subtle changes in patient condition. Critics of early warning systems have expressed concern that nurses would rely on a score rather than assessment skills and critical thinking to determine the need for intervention. Enhancing early warning systems with innovative technology is still in its infancy, so the impact of an enhanced early warning system on nursing behaviours or practice has not yet been studied. Phenomenological design. Scripted, semistructured interviews were conducted in September 2015 with 25 medical/surgical nurses who used the enhanced early warning system. Data were analysed using thematic analysis techniques (coding and bracketing). Emerging themes were examined for relationships and a model describing the enhanced early warning system experience was developed. Nurses identified awareness leading to investigation and ease of prioritization as the enhanced early warning system's most important impact on their nursing practice. There was also an impact on organizational culture, with nurses reporting improved communication, increased collaboration, increased accountability and proactive responses to early changes in patient condition. Rather than hinder critical thinking, as many early warning systems' critics claim, nurses in this study found that the enhanced early warning system increased their awareness of changes in a patient's condition, resulting in earlier response and reassessment times. It also had an impact on the organization by improving communication and collaboration and supporting a culture of proactive rather than reactive response to early signs of deterioration. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Active Disaster Response System for a Smart Building

PubMed Central

Lin, Chun-Yen; Chu, Edward T.-H; Ku, Lun-Wei; Liu, Jane W. S.

2014-01-01

Disaster warning and surveillance systems have been widely applied to help the public be aware of an emergency. However, existing warning systems are unable to cooperate with household appliances or embedded controllers; that is, they cannot provide enough time for preparedness and evacuation, especially for disasters like earthquakes. In addition, the existing warning and surveillance systems are not responsible for collecting sufficient information inside a building for relief workers to conduct a proper rescue action after a disaster happens. In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of a proof of concept prototype, named the active disaster response system (ADRS), which automatically performs emergency tasks when an earthquake happens. ADRS can interpret Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) messages, published by an official agency, and actuate embedded controllers to perform emergency tasks to respond to the alerts. Examples of emergency tasks include opening doors and windows and cutting off power lines and gas valves. In addition, ADRS can maintain a temporary network by utilizing the embedded controllers; hence, victims trapped inside a building are still able to post emergency messages if the original network is disconnected. We conducted a field trial to evaluate the effectiveness of ADRS after an earthquake happened. Our results show that compared to manually operating emergency tasks, ADRS can reduce the operation time by up to 15 s, which is long enough for people to get under sturdy furniture, or to evacuate from the third floor to the first floor, or to run more than 100 m. PMID:25237897

Linking Research to Practice: FEWS NET and Its Use of Satellite Remote Sensing Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Molly E.; Brickley, Elizabeth B.

2011-01-01

The purpose of the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) is to collaborate with international, regional and national partners to provide timely and rigorous early warning and vulnerability information on emerging and evolving food security issues

DRUG ABUSE WARNING NETWORK (DAWN) DATABASE

EPA Science Inventory

The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) is an ongoing drug abuse data collection system sponsored by SAMHSA's Office of Applied Studies. DAWN collects data from: (1) hospital emergency departments (EDs) and (2) medical examiners (MEs). The DAWN ED component relies on a nationally r...

Vantage point - Early warning flaws.

PubMed

Swinden, Donna

2014-08-28

USING AN EARLY warning score (EWS) system should improve the detection of acutely deteriorating patients. Under such a system, a score is allocated to each of six physiological measurements including respiratory rate and oxygen saturations, which are aggregated to produce an overall score. An aggregated score of seven or higher prompts nursing staff to refer a patient for emergency assessment.

Estimating the Critical Point of Crowding in the Emergency Department for the Warning System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Y.; Pan, C.; Tseng, C.; Wen, J.

2011-12-01

The purpose of this study is to deduce a function from the admissions/discharge rate of patient flow to estimate a "Critical Point" that provides a reference for warning systems in regards to crowding in the emergency department (ED) of a hospital or medical clinic. In this study, a model of "Input-Throughput-Output" was used in our established mathematical function to evaluate the critical point. The function is defined as dPin/dt=dwait/dt+Cp×B+ dPout/dt where Pin= number of registered patients, Pwait= number of waiting patients, Cp= retention rate per bed (calculated for the critical point), B= number of licensed beds in the treatment area, and Pout= number of patients discharged from the treatment area. Using the average Cp of ED crowding, we could start the warning system at an appropriate time and then plan for necessary emergency response to facilitate the patient process more smoothly. It was concluded that ED crowding could be quantified using the average value of Cp and the value could be used as a reference for medical staff to give optimal emergency medical treatment to patients. Therefore, additional practical work should be launched to collect more precise quantitative data.

Warning Triggers in Environmental Hazards: Who Should Be Warned to Do What and When?

PubMed

Cova, Thomas J; Dennison, Philip E; Li, Dapeng; Drews, Frank A; Siebeneck, Laura K; Lindell, Michael K

2017-04-01

Determining the most effective public warnings to issue during a hazardous environmental event is a complex problem. Three primary questions need to be answered: Who should take protective action? What is the best action? and When should this action be initiated? Warning triggers provide a proactive means for emergency managers to simultaneously answer these questions by recommending that a target group take a specified protective action if a preset environmental trigger condition occurs (e.g., warn a community to evacuate if a wildfire crosses a proximal ridgeline). Triggers are used to warn the public across a wide variety of environmental hazards, and an improved understanding of their nature and role promises to: (1) advance protective action theory by unifying the natural, built, and social themes in hazards research into one framework, (2) reveal important information about emergency managers' risk perception, situational awareness, and threat assessment regarding threat behavior and public response, and (3) advance spatiotemporal models for representing the geography and timing of disaster warning and response (i.e., a coupled natural-built-social system). We provide an overview and research agenda designed to advance our understanding and modeling of warning triggers. © 2016 Society for Risk Analysis.

Surveillance and early warning systems of infectious disease in China: From 2012 to 2014.

PubMed

Zhang, Honglong; Wang, Liping; Lai, Shengjie; Li, Zhongjie; Sun, Qiao; Zhang, Peng

2017-07-01

Appropriate surveillance and early warning of infectious diseases have very useful roles in disease control and prevention. In 2004, China established the National Notifiable Infectious Disease Surveillance System and the Public Health Emergency Event Surveillance System to report disease surveillance and events on the basis of data sources from the National Notifiable Infectious Disease Surveillance System, China Infectious Disease Automated-alert and Response System in this country. This study provided a descriptive summary and a data analysis, from 2012 to 2014, of these 3 key surveillance and early warning systems of infectious disease in China with the intent to provide suggestions for system improvement and perfection. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Influence of warning information changes on emergency response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heisterkamp, Tobias; Ulbrich, Uwe; Glade, Thomas; Tetzlaff, Gerd

2014-05-01

Mitigation and risk reduction of natural hazards is significantly related to the possibility of predicting the actual event. Some hazards can already be forecasted several days in advance. For these hazards, early warning systems have been developed, installed and improved over the years. The formation of winter storms for example can be recognized up to one week before they pass through Central Europe. This relative long early warning time has the advantage that forecasters can concretise the warnings over time. Therefore, warnings can even be adapted to alternating conditions within the process, the observation or changes in its modelling. Emergency managers are one group of warning recipients in the civil protection sector. They have to prepare or initiate prevention or response measures at a specific point of time, depending on the required lead time of the referring actions. At this point of time already, the forecast and its equivalent warning, has to be assumed as a stage of reality, hence the decision-makers have to come to a conclusion. These decisions are based on spatial and temporal knowledge of the forecasted event and the consequential situation of risk. With incoming warning updates, the detailed status of information is permanently being alternated. Consequently, decisions can be influenced by the development of the warning situation and the inherent tendency before a certain point of time. They can also be adapted to updates later on, according to the changing 'decision reality'. The influence of these dynamic hazard situations on operational planning and response by emergency managers is investigated in case studies on winter storms for Berlin, Germany. Therefore, the issued warnings by the weather service and data of operation of Berlin Fire Brigades are analysed and compared. This presentation shows and discusses first results.

Assessing the performance of regional landslide early warning models: the EDuMaP method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calvello, M.; Piciullo, L.

2016-01-01

A schematic of the components of regional early warning systems for rainfall-induced landslides is herein proposed, based on a clear distinction between warning models and warning systems. According to this framework an early warning system comprises a warning model as well as a monitoring and warning strategy, a communication strategy and an emergency plan. The paper proposes the evaluation of regional landslide warning models by means of an original approach, called the "event, duration matrix, performance" (EDuMaP) method, comprising three successive steps: identification and analysis of the events, i.e., landslide events and warning events derived from available landslides and warnings databases; definition and computation of a duration matrix, whose elements report the time associated with the occurrence of landslide events in relation to the occurrence of warning events, in their respective classes; evaluation of the early warning model performance by means of performance criteria and indicators applied to the duration matrix. During the first step the analyst identifies and classifies the landslide and warning events, according to their spatial and temporal characteristics, by means of a number of model parameters. In the second step, the analyst computes a time-based duration matrix with a number of rows and columns equal to the number of classes defined for the warning and landslide events, respectively. In the third step, the analyst computes a series of model performance indicators derived from a set of performance criteria, which need to be defined by considering, once again, the features of the warning model. The applicability, potentialities and limitations of the EDuMaP method are tested and discussed using real landslides and warning data from the municipal early warning system operating in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).

77 FR 6785 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Feedback Survey for Annual Tsunami Warning...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-09

... information following testing of the associated NWS communications systems. The tests are planned annually, in March/April and again in September. Post-test feedback information will be requested from emergency... Collection; Comment Request; Feedback Survey for Annual Tsunami Warning Communications Tests AGENCY: National...

Emergency vehicle traffic signal preemption system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bachelder, Aaron D. (Inventor); Foster, Conrad F. (Inventor)

2011-01-01

An emergency vehicle traffic light preemption system for preemption of traffic lights at an intersection to allow safe passage of emergency vehicles. The system includes a real-time status monitor of an intersection which is relayed to a control module for transmission to emergency vehicles as well as to a central dispatch office. The system also provides for audio warnings at an intersection to protect pedestrians who may not be in a position to see visual warnings or for various reasons cannot hear the approach of emergency vehicles. A transponder mounted on an emergency vehicle provides autonomous control so the vehicle operator can attend to getting to an emergency and not be concerned with the operation of the system. Activation of a priority-code (i.e. Code-3) situation provides communications with each intersection being approached by an emergency vehicle and indicates whether the intersection is preempted or if there is any conflict with other approaching emergency vehicles. On-board diagnostics handle various information including heading, speed, and acceleration sent to a control module which is transmitted to an intersection and which also simultaneously receives information regarding the status of an intersection. Real-time communications and operations software allow central and remote monitoring, logging, and command of intersections and vehicles.

30 CFR 48.6 - Experienced miner training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... mine; the check-in and checkout system in effect at the mine; the procedures for riding on and in mine... communication systems, warning signals, and directional signs. (5) Mine map; escapeways; emergency evacuation... escapeway system; the escape, firefighting, and emergency evacuation plans in effect at the mine; and the...

30 CFR 48.6 - Experienced miner training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... mine; the check-in and checkout system in effect at the mine; the procedures for riding on and in mine... communication systems, warning signals, and directional signs. (5) Mine map; escapeways; emergency evacuation... escapeway system; the escape, firefighting, and emergency evacuation plans in effect at the mine; and the...

Smart Roadside System for Driver Assistance and Safety Warnings: Framework and Applications

PubMed Central

Jang, Jeong Ah; Kim, Hyun Suk; Cho, Han Byeog

2011-01-01

The use of newly emerging sensor technologies in traditional roadway systems can provide real-time traffic services to drivers through Telematics and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITSs). This paper introduces a smart roadside system that utilizes various sensors for driver assistance and traffic safety warnings. This paper shows two road application models for a smart roadside system and sensors: a red-light violation warning system for signalized intersections, and a speed advisory system for highways. Evaluation results for the two services are then shown using a micro-simulation method. In the given real-time applications for drivers, the framework and certain algorithms produce a very efficient solution with respect to the roadway type features and sensor type use. PMID:22164025

Improved satellite-based emergency alerting system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernard, E. N.; Milburn, H. B.

1991-12-01

Rapid-onset natural hazards have claimed more than 2.8 million lives worldwide in the past 20 years. This category includes such events as earthquakes, landslides, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, and tsunamis. Effective hazard mitigation is particularly difficult in such cases, since the time available to issue warnings can be very short or even nonexistent. A general approach to mitigate the effects of these disasters was demonstrated in 1988 that included preevent emergency planning, real-time hazard assessment, and rapid warning via satellite communication links. This article reports on improvements in this satellite-based emergency alerting communication system that have reduced the response time from 87 to 17 sec and expanded the broadcast coverage from 40 percent to 62 percent of the earth's surface.

An early warning and control system for urban, drinking water quality protection: China's experience.

PubMed

Hou, Dibo; Song, Xiaoxuan; Zhang, Guangxin; Zhang, Hongjian; Loaiciga, Hugo

2013-07-01

An event-driven, urban, drinking water quality early warning and control system (DEWS) is proposed to cope with China's urgent need for protecting its urban drinking water. The DEWS has a web service structure and provides users with water quality monitoring functions, water quality early warning functions, and water quality accident decision-making functions. The DEWS functionality is guided by the principles of control theory and risk assessment as applied to the feedback control of urban water supply systems. The DEWS has been deployed in several large Chinese cities and found to perform well insofar as water quality early warning and emergency decision-making is concerned. This paper describes a DEWS for urban water quality protection that has been developed in China.

People-centred landslide early warning systems in the context of risk management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haß, S.; Asch, K.; Fernandez-Steeger, T.; Arnhardt, C.

2009-04-01

In the current hazard research people-centred warning becomes more and more important, because different types of organizations and groups have to be involved in the warning process. This fact has to be taken into account when developing early warning systems. The effectiveness of early warning depends not only on technical capabilities but also on the preparedness of decision makers and their immediate response on how to act in case of emergency. Hence early warning systems have to be regarded in the context of an integrated and holistic risk management. Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) measures include people-centred, timely and understandable warning. Further responsible authorities have to be identified in advance and standards for risk communication have to be established. Up to now, hazard and risk assessment for geohazards focuses on the development of inventory, susceptibility, hazard and risk maps. But often, especially in Europe, there are no institutional structures for managing geohazards and in addition there is a lack of an authority that is legally obliged to alarm on landslides at national or regional level. One of the main characteristics within the warning process for natural hazards e.g. in Germany is the split of responsibility between scientific authorities (wissenschaftliche Fachbehörde) and enforcement authorities (Vollzugsbehörde). The scientific authority provides the experts who define the methods and measures for monitoring and evaluate the hazard level. The main focus is the acquisition and evaluation of data and subsequently the distribution of information. The enforcement authority issues official warnings about dangerous natural phenomena. Hence the information chain in the context of early warning ranges over two different institutions, the forecast service and the warning service. But there doesn't exist a framework for warning processes in terms of landslides as yet. The concept for managing natural disasters is often reduced to hazard assessment and emergency response. Great importance is attached to the scientific understanding of hazards and protective structures, while analysis of socio-economic impacts and risk assessment are not considered enough. The reduction of vulnerability has to be taken into greater account. Also the information needs of different stakeholders have to be identified at an early stage and should be integrated in the development of early warning systems. The content of the warning message must be simple, understandable and should cover instructions on how to react. Further the timeliness of the messages has to be guarented. In this context the aim of the landslide monitoring and early warning system SLEWS (Sensor Based Landslide Early Warning System) is to integrate the above mentioned aspects of a holistic disaster and risk management. The technology of spatial data infrastructures and web services provides the use of multiple communication channels within an early warning system. Thus people-centred early warning messages and information about slope stability can be sent in nearly real-time. It has to be underlined that the technological information process is just one element of an effective warning system. Moreover the warning system has also to be considered as a social system and has to make allowance to socio-economic and gender aspects : «[...] Develop early warning systems that are people centered, in particular systems whose warnings are timely and understandable to those at risk, which take into account the demographic, gender, cultural and livelihood characteristics of the target audiences, including guidance on how to act upon warnings, and that support effective operations by disaster managers and other decision makers » (Hyogo Framework, 2005) References : UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY FOR DISASTER REDUCTION SECRETARIAT (UNISDR) (2006): Developing early warning systems: a checklist, Third international conference on early warning (EWC III): from concept to action: 27-29 March 2006, Bonn, Germany. Geneva, Switzerland: International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. WORLD CONFERENCE ON DISASTER REDUCTION (2005) : Report of the World Conference on Disaster Reduction: Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, 18-22 January 2005. Geneva, Switzerland, Secretariat, World Conference on Disaster Reduction. INTER-AGENCY SECRETARIAT OF THE ISDR & GLOBAL PLATFORM FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION (2007): Disaster risk reduction: 2007 global review. Geneva, UN, ISDR.

International Students' Perceptions of Shelter-in-Place Notifications: Implications for University Officials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Thomas C.

2014-01-01

Emergency notifications and shelter-in-place warnings on college and university campuses are generally issued in English and presuppose either a common shared language and culture or the adaptation of the warning system to a multilingual and multicultural social structure. This study examined the roles that language, culture, and emergency…

Research on Disaster Early Warning and Disaster Relief Integrated Service System Based on Block Data Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, J.; Zhang, H.; Wang, C.; Tang, D.

2018-04-01

With the continuous development of social economy, the interaction between mankind and nature has become increasingly evident. Disastrous global catastrophes have occurred from time to time, causing huge losses to people's lives and property. All governments recognize the importance of the establishment of disaster early warning and release mechanisms, and it is also an urgent issue to improve the comprehensive service level of emergency response and disaster relief. However, disaster early warning and emergency relief information is usually generated by different departments, and the diverse data sources, difficult integration, and limited release speed have always been difficult issues to be solved. Block data is the aggregation of various distributed (point data) and segmentation (data) big data on a specific platform and make them happen continuous polymerization effect, block data theory is a good solution to cross-sectoral, cross-platform Disaster information data sharing and integration problems. This paper attempts to discuss the integrated service mechanism of disaster information aggregation and disaster relief based on block data theory and introduces a location-based integrated service system for disaster early warning and disaster relief.

An Emergency Packet Forwarding Scheme for V2V Communication Networks

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

This paper proposes an effective warning message forwarding scheme for cooperative collision avoidance. In an emergency situation, an emergency-detecting vehicle warns the neighbor vehicles via an emergency warning message. Since the transmission range is limited, the warning message is broadcast in a multihop manner. Broadcast packets lead two challenges to forward the warning message in the vehicular network: redundancy of warning messages and competition with nonemergency transmissions. In this paper, we study and address the two major challenges to achieve low latency in delivery of the warning message. To reduce the intervehicle latency and end-to-end latency, which cause chain collisions, we propose a two-way intelligent broadcasting method with an adaptable distance-dependent backoff algorithm. Considering locations of vehicles, the proposed algorithm controls the broadcast of a warning message to reduce redundant EWM messages and adaptively chooses the contention window to compete with nonemergency transmission. Via simulations, we show that our proposed algorithm reduces the probability of rear-end crashes by 70% compared to previous algorithms by reducing the intervehicle delay. We also show that the end-to-end propagation delay of the warning message is reduced by 55%. PMID:25054181

46 CFR 113.25-12 - Alarm signals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Alarm signals. 113.25-12 Section 113.25-12 Shipping... SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT General Emergency Alarm Systems § 113.25-12 Alarm signals. (a) Each general emergency alarm signal must be an electrically-operated bell, klaxon, or other warning device capable of...

46 CFR 113.25-12 - Alarm signals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Alarm signals. 113.25-12 Section 113.25-12 Shipping... SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT General Emergency Alarm Systems § 113.25-12 Alarm signals. (a) Each general emergency alarm signal must be an electrically-operated bell, klaxon, or other warning device capable of...

46 CFR 113.25-12 - Alarm signals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Alarm signals. 113.25-12 Section 113.25-12 Shipping... SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT General Emergency Alarm Systems § 113.25-12 Alarm signals. (a) Each general emergency alarm signal must be an electrically-operated bell, klaxon, or other warning device capable of...

46 CFR 113.25-12 - Alarm signals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Alarm signals. 113.25-12 Section 113.25-12 Shipping... SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT General Emergency Alarm Systems § 113.25-12 Alarm signals. (a) Each general emergency alarm signal must be an electrically-operated bell, klaxon, or other warning device capable of...

46 CFR 113.25-12 - Alarm signals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Alarm signals. 113.25-12 Section 113.25-12 Shipping... SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT General Emergency Alarm Systems § 113.25-12 Alarm signals. (a) Each general emergency alarm signal must be an electrically-operated bell, klaxon, or other warning device capable of...

How does a collision warning system shape driver's brake response time? The influence of expectancy and automation complacency on real-life emergency braking.

PubMed

Ruscio, Daniele; Ciceri, Maria Rita; Biassoni, Federica

2015-04-01

Brake Reaction Time (BRT) is an important parameter for road safety. Previous research has shown that drivers' expectations can impact RT when facing hazardous situations, but driving with advanced driver assistance systems, can change the way BRT are considered. The interaction with a collision warning system can help faster more efficient responses, but at the same time can require a monitoring task and evaluation process that may lead to automation complacency. The aims of the present study are to test in a real-life setting whether automation compliancy can be generated by a collision warning system and what component of expectancy can impact the different tasks involved in an assisted BRT process. More specifically four component of expectancy were investigated: presence/absence of anticipatory information, previous direct experience, reliability of the device, and predictability of the hazard determined by repeated use of the warning system. Results supply indication on perception time and mental elaboration of the collision warning system alerts. In particular reliable warning quickened the decision making process, misleading warnings generated automation complacency slowing visual search for hazard detection, lack of directed experienced slowed the overall response while unexpected failure of the device lead to inattentional blindness and potential pseudo-accidents with surprise obstacle intrusion. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Real-Time Surveillance in Emergencies Using the Early Warning Alert and Response Network.

PubMed

Cordes, Kristina M; Cookson, Susan T; Boyd, Andrew T; Hardy, Colleen; Malik, Mamunur Rahman; Mala, Peter; El Tahir, Khalid; Everard, Marthe; Jasiem, Mohamad; Husain, Farah

2017-11-01

Humanitarian emergencies often result in population displacement and increase the risk for transmission of communicable diseases. To address the increased risk for outbreaks during humanitarian emergencies, the World Health Organization developed the Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN) for early detection of epidemic-prone diseases. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has worked with the World Health Organization, ministries of health, and other partners to support EWARN through the implementation and evaluation of these systems and the development of standardized guidance. Although protocols have been developed for the implementation and evaluation of EWARN, a need persists for standardized training and additional guidance on supporting these systems remotely when access to affected areas is restricted. Continued collaboration between partners and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for surveillance during emergencies is necessary to strengthen capacity and support global health security.

Real-Time Surveillance in Emergencies Using the Early Warning Alert and Response Network

PubMed Central

Cordes, Kristina M.; Cookson, Susan T.; Boyd, Andrew T.; Hardy, Colleen; Malik, Mamunur Rahman; Mala, Peter; El Tahir, Khalid; Everard, Marthe; Jasiem, Mohamad

2017-01-01

Humanitarian emergencies often result in population displacement and increase the risk for transmission of communicable diseases. To address the increased risk for outbreaks during humanitarian emergencies, the World Health Organization developed the Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN) for early detection of epidemic-prone diseases. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has worked with the World Health Organization, ministries of health, and other partners to support EWARN through the implementation and evaluation of these systems and the development of standardized guidance. Although protocols have been developed for the implementation and evaluation of EWARN, a need persists for standardized training and additional guidance on supporting these systems remotely when access to affected areas is restricted. Continued collaboration between partners and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for surveillance during emergencies is necessary to strengthen capacity and support global health security. PMID:29155660

Warning systems in risk management.

PubMed

Paté-Cornell, M E

1986-06-01

A method is presented here that allows probabilistic evaluation and optimization of warning systems, and comparison of their performance and cost-effectiveness with those of other means of risk management. The model includes an assessment of the signals, and of human response, given the memory that people have kept of the quality of previous alerts. The trade-off between the rate of false alerts and the length of the lead time is studied to account for the long-term effects of "crying wolf" and the effectiveness of emergency actions. An explicit formulation of the system's benefits, including inputs from a signal model, a response model, and a consequence model, is given to allow optimization of the warning threshold and of the system's sensitivity.

Food Security, Decision Making and the Use of Remote Sensing in Famine Early Warning Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Molly E.

2008-01-01

Famine early warning systems use remote sensing in combination with socio-economic and household food economy analysis to provide timely and rigorous information on emerging food security crises. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) is the US Agency for International Development's decision support system in 20 African countries, as well as in Guatemala, Haiti and Afghanistan. FEWS NET provides early and actionable policy guidance for the US Government and its humanitarian aid partners. As we move into an era of climate change where weather hazards will become more frequent and severe, understanding how to provide quantitative and actionable scientific information for policy makers using biophysical data is critical for an appropriate and effective response.

ACOG Committee Opinion No. 487: Preparing for clinical emergencies in obstetrics and gynecology.

PubMed

2011-04-01

Patient care emergencies may periodically occur at any time in any setting, particularly the inpatient setting. To respond to these emergencies, it is important that obstetrician-gynecologists prepare themselves by assessing potential emergencies that might occur, creating plans that include establishing early warning systems, designating specialized first responders, conducting emergency drills, and debriefing staff after actual events to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement. Having such systems in place may reduce or prevent the severity of medical emergencies.

Implications Of The 11 March Tohoku Tsunami On Warning Systems And Vertical Evacuation Strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraser, S.; Leonard, G.; Johnston, D.

2011-12-01

The Mw 9.0 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of March 11th 2011 claimed over 20,000 lives in an event which inundated over 500 km2 of land on the north-east coast of Japan. Successful execution of tsunami warning procedures and evacuation strategies undoubtedly saved thousands of lives, and there is evidence that vertical evacuation facilities were a key part of reducing the fatality rate in several municipalities in the Sendai Plains. As with all major disasters, however, post-event observations show that there are lessons to be learned in minimising life loss in future events. This event has raised or reinforced several key points that should be considered for implementation in all areas at risk from tsunami around the world. Primary areas for discussion are the need for redundant power supplies in tsunami warning systems; considerations of natural warnings when official warnings may not come; adequate understanding and estimation of the tsunami hazard; thorough site assessments for critical infrastructure, including emergency management facilities and tsunami refuges; and adequate signage of evacuation routes and refuges. This paper will present observations made on two field visits to the Tohoku region during 2011, drawing conclusions from field observations and discussions with local emergency officials. These observations will inform the enhancement of current tsunami evacuation strategies in New Zealand; it is believed discussion of these observations can also benefit continuing development of warning and evacuation strategies existing in the United States and elsewhere.

Volcano warning systems: Chapter 67

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gregg, Chris E.; Houghton, Bruce F.; Ewert, John W.

2015-01-01

Messages conveying volcano alert level such as Watches and Warnings are designed to provide people with risk information before, during, and after eruptions. Information is communicated to people from volcano observatories and emergency management agencies and from informal sources and social and environmental cues. Any individual or agency can be both a message sender and a recipient and multiple messages received from multiple sources is the norm in a volcanic crisis. Significant challenges to developing effective warning systems for volcanic hazards stem from the great diversity in unrest, eruption, and post-eruption processes and the rapidly advancing digital technologies that people use to seek real-time risk information. Challenges also involve the need to invest resources before unrest to help people develop shared mental models of important risk factors. Two populations of people are the target of volcano notifications–ground- and aviation-based populations, and volcano warning systems must address both distinctly different populations.

49 CFR 234.109 - Recordkeeping.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION GRADE CROSSING SAFETY, INCLUDING SIGNAL SYSTEMS, STATE ACTION PLANS, AND EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Response to Credible Reports of Warning System Malfunction at Highway-Rail...

49 CFR 234.109 - Recordkeeping.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION GRADE CROSSING SAFETY, INCLUDING SIGNAL SYSTEMS, STATE ACTION PLANS, AND EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Response to Credible Reports of Warning System Malfunction at Highway-Rail...

49 CFR 234.106 - Partial activation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION GRADE CROSSING SAFETY, INCLUDING SIGNAL SYSTEMS, STATE ACTION PLANS, AND EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Response to Credible Reports of Warning System Malfunction at Highway-Rail...

49 CFR 234.101 - Employee notification rules.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

....101 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION GRADE CROSSING SAFETY, INCLUDING SIGNAL SYSTEMS, STATE ACTION PLANS, AND EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Response to Credible Reports of Warning System Malfunction at...

49 CFR 234.107 - False activation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION GRADE CROSSING SAFETY, INCLUDING SIGNAL SYSTEMS, STATE ACTION PLANS, AND EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Response to Credible Reports of Warning System Malfunction at Highway-Rail...

49 CFR 234.105 - Activation failure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION GRADE CROSSING SAFETY, INCLUDING SIGNAL SYSTEMS, STATE ACTION PLANS, AND EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Response to Credible Reports of Warning System Malfunction at Highway-Rail...

49 CFR 234.101 - Employee notification rules.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

....101 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION GRADE CROSSING SAFETY, INCLUDING SIGNAL SYSTEMS, STATE ACTION PLANS, AND EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Response to Credible Reports of Warning System Malfunction at...

49 CFR 234.107 - False activation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION GRADE CROSSING SAFETY, INCLUDING SIGNAL SYSTEMS, STATE ACTION PLANS, AND EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Response to Credible Reports of Warning System Malfunction at Highway-Rail...

49 CFR 234.107 - False activation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION GRADE CROSSING SAFETY, INCLUDING SIGNAL SYSTEMS, STATE ACTION PLANS, AND EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Response to Credible Reports of Warning System Malfunction at Highway-Rail...

49 CFR 234.106 - Partial activation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION GRADE CROSSING SAFETY, INCLUDING SIGNAL SYSTEMS, STATE ACTION PLANS, AND EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Response to Credible Reports of Warning System Malfunction at Highway-Rail...

49 CFR 234.101 - Employee notification rules.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

....101 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION GRADE CROSSING SAFETY, INCLUDING SIGNAL SYSTEMS, STATE ACTION PLANS, AND EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Response to Credible Reports of Warning System Malfunction at...

49 CFR 234.105 - Activation failure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION GRADE CROSSING SAFETY, INCLUDING SIGNAL SYSTEMS, STATE ACTION PLANS, AND EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Response to Credible Reports of Warning System Malfunction at Highway-Rail...

49 CFR 234.109 - Recordkeeping.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION GRADE CROSSING SAFETY, INCLUDING SIGNAL SYSTEMS, STATE ACTION PLANS, AND EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Response to Credible Reports of Warning System Malfunction at Highway-Rail...

49 CFR 234.106 - Partial activation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION GRADE CROSSING SAFETY, INCLUDING SIGNAL SYSTEMS, STATE ACTION PLANS, AND EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Response to Credible Reports of Warning System Malfunction at Highway-Rail...

49 CFR 234.105 - Activation failure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION GRADE CROSSING SAFETY, INCLUDING SIGNAL SYSTEMS, STATE ACTION PLANS, AND EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Response to Credible Reports of Warning System Malfunction at Highway-Rail...

Recommendations to harmonize European early warning dosimetry network systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dombrowski, H.; Bleher, M.; De Cort, M.; Dabrowski, R.; Neumaier, S.; Stöhlker, U.

2017-12-01

After the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in 1986, followed by the Fukushima Nuclear power plant accident 25 years later, it became obvious that real-time information is required to quickly gain radiological information. As a consequence, the European countries established early warning network systems with the aim to provide an immediate warning in case of a major radiological emergency, to supply reliable information on area dose rates, contamination levels, radioactivity concentrations in air and finally to assess public exposure. This is relevant for governmental decisions on intervention measures in an emergency situation. Since different methods are used by national environmental monitoring systems to measure area dose rate values and activity concentrations, there are significant differences in the results provided by different countries. Because European and neighboring countries report area dose rate data to a central data base operated on behalf of the European Commission, the comparability of the data is crucial for its meaningful interpretation, especially in the case of a nuclear accident with transboundary implications. Only by harmonizing measuring methods and data evaluation, is the comparability of the dose rate data ensured. This publication concentrates on technical requirements and methods with the goal to effectively harmonize area dose rate monitoring data provided by automatic early warning network systems. The requirements and procedures laid down in this publication are based on studies within the MetroERM project, taking into account realistic technical approaches and tested procedures.

Citizen Science to Support Community-based Flood Early Warning and Resilience Building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paul, J. D.; Buytaert, W.; Allen, S.; Ballesteros-Cánovas, J. A.; Bhusal, J.; Cieslik, K.; Clark, J.; Dewulf, A.; Dhital, M. R.; Hannah, D. M.; Liu, W.; Nayaval, J. L.; Schiller, A.; Smith, P. J.; Stoffel, M.; Supper, R.

2017-12-01

In Disaster Risk Management, an emerging shift has been noted from broad-scale, top-down assessments towards more participatory, community-based, bottom-up approaches. Combined with technologies for robust and low-cost sensor networks, a citizen science approach has recently emerged as a promising direction in the provision of extensive, real-time information for flood early warning systems. Here we present the framework and initial results of a major new international project, Landslide EVO, aimed at increasing local resilience against hydrologically induced disasters in western Nepal by exploiting participatory approaches to knowledge generation and risk governance. We identify three major technological developments that strongly support our approach to flood early warning and resilience building in Nepal. First, distributed sensor networks, participatory monitoring, and citizen science hold great promise in complementing official monitoring networks and remote sensing by generating site-specific information with local buy-in, especially in data-scarce regions. Secondly, the emergence of open source, cloud-based risk analysis platforms supports the construction of a modular, distributed, and potentially decentralised data processing workflow. Finally, linking data analysis platforms to social computer networks and ICT (e.g. mobile phones, tablets) allows tailored interfaces and people-centred decision- and policy-support systems to be built. Our proposition is that maximum impact is created if end-users are involved not only in data collection, but also over the entire project life-cycle, including the analysis and provision of results. In this context, citizen science complements more traditional knowledge generation practices, and also enhances multi-directional information provision, risk management, early-warning systems and local resilience building.

A Cardiac Early Warning System with Multi Channel SCG and ECG Monitoring for Mobile Health

PubMed Central

Sahoo, Prasan Kumar; Thakkar, Hiren Kumar; Lee, Ming-Yih

2017-01-01

Use of information and communication technology such as smart phone, smart watch, smart glass and portable health monitoring devices for healthcare services has made Mobile Health (mHealth) an emerging research area. Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is considered as a leading cause of death world wide and an increasing number of people die prematurely due to CHD. Under such circumstances, there is a growing demand for a reliable cardiac monitoring system to catch the intermittent abnormalities and detect critical cardiac behaviors which lead to sudden death. Use of mobile devices to collect Electrocardiography (ECG), Seismocardiography (SCG) data and efficient analysis of those data can monitor a patient’s cardiac activities for early warning. This paper presents a novel cardiac data acquisition method and combined analysis of Electrocardiography (ECG) and multi channel Seismocardiography (SCG) data. An early warning system is implemented to monitor the cardiac activities of a person and accuracy assessment of the early warning system is conducted for the ECG data only. The assessment shows 88% accuracy and effectiveness of our proposed analysis, which implies the viability and applicability of the proposed early warning system. PMID:28353681

A Cardiac Early Warning System with Multi Channel SCG and ECG Monitoring for Mobile Health.

PubMed

Sahoo, Prasan Kumar; Thakkar, Hiren Kumar; Lee, Ming-Yih

2017-03-29

Use of information and communication technology such as smart phone, smart watch, smart glass and portable health monitoring devices for healthcare services has made Mobile Health (mHealth) an emerging research area. Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is considered as a leading cause of death world wide and an increasing number of people die prematurely due to CHD. Under such circumstances, there is a growing demand for a reliable cardiac monitoring system to catch the intermittent abnormalities and detect critical cardiac behaviors which lead to sudden death. Use of mobile devices to collect Electrocardiography (ECG), Seismocardiography (SCG) data and efficient analysis of those data can monitor a patient's cardiac activities for early warning. This paper presents a novel cardiac data acquisition method and combined analysis of Electrocardiography (ECG) and multi channel Seismocardiography (SCG) data. An early warning system is implemented to monitor the cardiac activities of a person and accuracy assessment of the early warning system is conducted for the ECG data only. The assessment shows 88% accuracy and effectiveness of our proposed analysis, which implies the viability and applicability of the proposed early warning system.

Operational Earthquake Forecasting and Earthquake Early Warning: The Challenges of Introducing Scientific Innovations for Public Safety

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goltz, J. D.

2016-12-01

Although variants of both earthquake early warning and short-term operational earthquake forecasting systems have been implemented or are now being implemented in some regions and nations, they have been slow to gain acceptance within the disciplines that produced them as well as among those for whom they were intended to assist. To accelerate the development and implementation of these technologies will require the cooperation and collaboration of multiple disciplines, some inside and others outside of academia. Seismologists, social scientists, emergency managers, elected officials and key opinion leaders from the media and public must be the participants in this process. Representatives of these groups come from both inside and outside of academia and represent very different organizational cultures, backgrounds and expectations for these systems, sometimes leading to serious disagreements and impediments to further development and implementation. This presentation will focus on examples of the emergence of earthquake early warning and operational earthquake forecasting systems in California, Japan and other regions and document the challenges confronted in the ongoing effort to improve seismic safety.

On the importance of risk knowledge for an end-to-end tsunami early warning system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Post, Joachim; Strunz, Günter; Riedlinger, Torsten; Mück, Matthias; Wegscheider, Stephanie; Zosseder, Kai; Steinmetz, Tilmann; Gebert, Niklas; Anwar, Herryal

2010-05-01

Warning systems commonly use information provided by networks of sensors able to monitor and detect impending disasters, aggregate and condense these information to provide reliable information to a decision maker whether to warn or not, disseminates the warning message and provide this information to people at risk. Ultimate aim is to enable those in danger to make decisions (e.g. initiate protective actions for buildings) and to take action to safe their lives. This involves very complex issues when considering all four elements of early warning systems (UNISDR-PPEW), namely (1) risk knowledge, (2) monitoring and warning service, (3) dissemination and communication, (4) response capability with the ultimate aim to gain as much time as possible to empower individuals and communities to act in an appropriate manner to reduce injury, loss of life, damage to property and the environment and loss of livelihoods. Commonly most warning systems feature strengths and main attention on the technical/structural dimension (monitoring & warning service, dissemination tools) with weaknesses and less attention on social/cultural dimension (e.g. human response capabilities, defined warning chain to and knowing what to do by the people). Also, the use of risk knowledge in early warning most often is treated in a theoretical manner (knowing that it is somehow important), yet less in an operational, practical sense. Risk assessments and risk maps help to motivate people, prioritise early warning system needs and guide preparations for response and disaster prevention activities. Beyond this risk knowledge can be seen as a tie between national level early warning and community level reaction schemes. This presentation focuses on results, key findings and lessons-learnt related to tsunami risk assessment in the context of early warning within the GITEWS (German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning) project. Here a novel methodology reflecting risk information needs in the early warning context has been worked out. The generated results contribute significantly in the fields of (1) warning decision and warning levels, (2) warning dissemination and warning message content, (3) early warning chain planning, (4) increasing response capabilities and protective systems, (5) emergency relief and (6) enhancing communities' awareness and preparedness towards tsunami threats. Additionally examples will be given on the potentials of an operational use of risk information in early warning systems as first experiences exist for the tsunami early warning center in Jakarta, Indonesia. Beside this the importance of linking national level early warning information with tsunami risk information available at the local level (e.g. linking warning message information on expected intensity with respective tsunami hazard zone maps at community level for effective evacuation) will be demonstrated through experiences gained in three pilot areas in Indonesia. The presentation seeks to provide new insights on benefits using risk information in early warning and will provide further evidence that practical use of risk information is an important and indispensable component of end-to-end early warning.

In-vehicle low-cost signing system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greneker, Eugene F.

1997-02-01

There are approximately 20 million police radar detectors used on the highways of the United States daily. A highway hazard safety warning system has been developed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute, working under the sponsorship of the radar detector industry, to communicate highway safety alerts to the driver of any vehicle equipped with a police radar detector. In addition, the system causes the new generation of detectors that are already available to display a safety warning message on an alpha-numeric display. The Safety Warning SystemTM consists of a transmitter and a radar detector receiver or stand-alone safety warning receiver/display system. The transmitter can be mounted on police cars, emergency vehicles, utility vehicles, highly repair vehicles, and on stationary structures at fixed locations along the highway. The reception range of the transmitted signal is between 0.5 and 1.0 miles, depending on terrain. The system to be described may be one of the first applications of in-vehicle signing in the Intelligent Transportation System to be implemented, because the required infrastructure of receivers already exists.

Autonomic nervous system activity as risk predictor in the medical emergency department: a prospective cohort study.

PubMed

Eick, Christian; Rizas, Konstantinos D; Meyer-Zürn, Christine S; Groga-Bada, Patrick; Hamm, Wolfgang; Kreth, Florian; Overkamp, Dietrich; Weyrich, Peter; Gawaz, Meinrad; Bauer, Axel

2015-05-01

To evaluate heart rate deceleration capacity, an electrocardiogram-based marker of autonomic nervous system activity, as risk predictor in a medical emergency department and to test its incremental predictive value to the modified early warning score. Prospective cohort study. Medical emergency department of a large university hospital. Five thousand seven hundred thirty consecutive patients of either sex in sinus rhythm, who were admitted to the medical emergency department of the University of Tübingen, Germany, between November 2010 and March 2012. None. Deceleration capacity of heart rate was calculated within the first minutes after emergency department admission. The modified early warning score was assessed from respiratory rate, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, body temperature, and level of consciousness as previously described. Primary endpoint was intrahospital mortality; secondary endpoints included transfer to the ICU as well as 30-day and 180-day mortality. One hundred forty-two patients (2.5%) reached the primary endpoint. Deceleration capacity was highly significantly lower in nonsurvivors than survivors (2.9 ± 2.1 ms vs 5.6 ± 2.9 ms; p < 0.001) and yielded an area under the receiver-operator characteristic curve of 0.780 (95% CI, 0.745-0.813). The modified early warning score model yielded an area under the receiver-operator characteristic curve of 0.706 (0.667-0.750). Implementing deceleration capacity into the modified early warning score model led to a highly significant increase of the area under the receiver-operator characteristic curve to 0.804 (0.770-0.835; p < 0.001 for difference). Deceleration capacity was also a highly significant predictor of 30-day and 180-day mortality as well as transfer to the ICU. Deceleration capacity is a strong and independent predictor of short-term mortality among patients admitted to a medical emergency department.

Famines in Africa: is early warning early enough?

PubMed Central

Kim, Jeeyon Janet; Guha-Sapir, Debarati

2012-01-01

Following the second Sahelian famine in 1984–1985, major investments were made to establish Early Warning Systems. These systems help to ensure that timely warnings and vulnerability information are available to decision makers to anticipate and avert food crises. In the recent crisis in the Horn of Africa, alarming levels of acute malnutrition were documented from March 2010, and by August 2010, an impending food crisis was forecast. Despite these measures, the situation remained unrecognised, and further deteriorated causing malnutrition levels to grow in severity and scope. By the time the United Nations officially declared famine on 20 July 2011, and the humanitarian community sluggishly went into response mode, levels of malnutrition and mortality exceeded catastrophic levels. At this time, an estimated 11 million people were in desperate and immediate need for food. With warnings of food crises in the Sahel, South Sudan, and forecast of the drought returning to the Horn, there is an immediate need to institutionalize change in the health response during humanitarian emergencies. Early warning systems are only effective if they trigger an early response. PMID:22745628

Famines in Africa: is early warning early enough?

PubMed

Kim, Jeeyon Janet; Guha-Sapir, Debarati

2012-01-01

Following the second Sahelian famine in 1984-1985, major investments were made to establish Early Warning Systems. These systems help to ensure that timely warnings and vulnerability information are available to decision makers to anticipate and avert food crises. In the recent crisis in the Horn of Africa, alarming levels of acute malnutrition were documented from March 2010, and by August 2010, an impending food crisis was forecast. Despite these measures, the situation remained unrecognised, and further deteriorated causing malnutrition levels to grow in severity and scope. By the time the United Nations officially declared famine on 20 July 2011, and the humanitarian community sluggishly went into response mode, levels of malnutrition and mortality exceeded catastrophic levels. At this time, an estimated 11 million people were in desperate and immediate need for food. With warnings of food crises in the Sahel, South Sudan, and forecast of the drought returning to the Horn, there is an immediate need to institutionalize change in the health response during humanitarian emergencies. Early warning systems are only effective if they trigger an early response.

NOAA Weather Wire Service

Science.gov Websites

& Imagery; includes NWS alerts and warnings No 6 Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) Mobile Phone Alerts & Warnings only No 7 Interactive NWS (iNWS) - NOTE 1 https://inws.ncep.noaa.gov/ Mobile Phone $$$$) Internet/ Mobile Phone Alerts and Warnings No 15 County or Local Emergency Management Telephone alert

Assessing Mental Models of Emergencies Through Two Knowledge Elicitation Tasks.

PubMed

Whitmer, Daphne E; Sims, Valerie K; Torres, Michael E

2017-05-01

The goals of this study were to assess the risk identification aspect of mental models using standard elicitation methods and how university campus alerts were related to these mental models. People fail to follow protective action recommendations in emergency warnings. Past research has yet to examine cognitive processes that influence emergency decision-making. Study 1 examined 2 years of emergency alerts distributed by a large southeastern university. In Study 2, participants listed emergencies in a thought-listing task. Study 3 measured participants' time to decide if a situation was an emergency. The university distributed the most alerts about an armed person, theft, and fire. In Study 2, participants most frequently listed fire, car accident, heart attack, and theft. In Study 3, participants quickly decided a bomb, murder, fire, tornado, and rape were emergencies. They most slowly decided that a suspicious package and identify theft were emergencies. Recent interaction with warnings was only somewhat related to participants' mental models of emergencies. Risk identification precedes decision-making and applying protective actions. Examining these characteristics of people's mental representations of emergencies is fundamental to further understand why some emergency warnings go ignored. Someone must believe a situation is serious to categorize it as an emergency before taking the protective action recommendations in an emergency warning. Present-day research must continue to examine the problem of people ignoring warning communication, as there are important cognitive factors that have not yet been explored until the present research.

Drivers of Emerging Infectious Disease Events as a Framework for Digital Detection.

PubMed

Olson, Sarah H; Benedum, Corey M; Mekaru, Sumiko R; Preston, Nicholas D; Mazet, Jonna A K; Joly, Damien O; Brownstein, John S

2015-08-01

The growing field of digital disease detection, or epidemic intelligence, attempts to improve timely detection and awareness of infectious disease (ID) events. Early detection remains an important priority; thus, the next frontier for ID surveillance is to improve the recognition and monitoring of drivers (antecedent conditions) of ID emergence for signals that precede disease events. These data could help alert public health officials to indicators of elevated ID risk, thereby triggering targeted active surveillance and interventions. We believe that ID emergence risks can be anticipated through surveillance of their drivers, just as successful warning systems of climate-based, meteorologically sensitive diseases are supported by improved temperature and precipitation data. We present approaches to driver surveillance, gaps in the current literature, and a scientific framework for the creation of a digital warning system. Fulfilling the promise of driver surveillance will require concerted action to expand the collection of appropriate digital driver data.

Forecasting infectious disease emergence subject to seasonal forcing.

PubMed

Miller, Paige B; O'Dea, Eamon B; Rohani, Pejman; Drake, John M

2017-09-06

Despite high vaccination coverage, many childhood infections pose a growing threat to human populations. Accurate disease forecasting would be of tremendous value to public health. Forecasting disease emergence using early warning signals (EWS) is possible in non-seasonal models of infectious diseases. Here, we assessed whether EWS also anticipate disease emergence in seasonal models. We simulated the dynamics of an immunizing infectious pathogen approaching the tipping point to disease endemicity. To explore the effect of seasonality on the reliability of early warning statistics, we varied the amplitude of fluctuations around the average transmission. We proposed and analyzed two new early warning signals based on the wavelet spectrum. We measured the reliability of the early warning signals depending on the strength of their trend preceding the tipping point and then calculated the Area Under the Curve (AUC) statistic. Early warning signals were reliable when disease transmission was subject to seasonal forcing. Wavelet-based early warning signals were as reliable as other conventional early warning signals. We found that removing seasonal trends, prior to analysis, did not improve early warning statistics uniformly. Early warning signals anticipate the onset of critical transitions for infectious diseases which are subject to seasonal forcing. Wavelet-based early warning statistics can also be used to forecast infectious disease.

DoD Global Emerging Infections System -- Partnering in the Fight Against Emerging Infections, Fiscal Year 2004

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-03-01

chloroquine (CQ) and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) in parts of the Peruvian Amazon . These studies contributed to Peru becoming the first country in the...298 OCONUS derived AFIOH processed international isolates that included isolates from Nepal (AFRIMS) and NMRCD ( Peru ), and others from NAMRU3 Cairo...warning systems; outbreak response; and epidemiologic training. Over the past decade, malaria emerged as a major public health threat in the Amazon

Emergency vehicle alert system, phase 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barr, Tom; Harper, Warren; Reed, Bill; Wallace, David

1993-01-01

The EVAS provides warning for hearing-impaired motor vehicle drivers that an emergency vehicle is in the local vicinity. Direction and distance to the emergency vehicle are presented visually to the driver. This is accomplished by a special RF transmission/reception system. During this phase the receiver and transmitter from Phase 1 were updated and modified and a directional antenna developed. The system was then field tested with good results. Static and dynamic (moving vehicle) tests were made with the direction determined correctly 98 percent of the time.

Earthquake Early Warning: A Prospective User's Perspective (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishenko, S. P.; Savage, W. U.; Johnson, T.

2009-12-01

With more than 25 million people at risk from high hazard faults in California alone, Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) presents a promising public safety and emergency response tool. EEW represents the real-time end of an earthquake information spectrum which also includes near real-time notifications of earthquake location, magnitude, and shaking levels; as well as geographic information system (GIS)-based products for compiling and visually displaying processed earthquake data such as ShakeMap and ShakeCast. Improvements to and increased multi-national implementation of EEW have stimulated interest in how such information products could be used in the future. Lifeline organizations, consisting of utilities and transportation systems, can use both onsite and regional EEW information as part of their risk management and public safety programs. Regional EEW information can provide improved situational awareness to system operators before automatic system protection devices activate, and allow trained personnel to take precautionary measures. On-site EEW is used for earthquake-actuated automatic gas shutoff valves, triggered garage door openers at fire stations, system controls, etc. While there is no public policy framework for preemptive, precautionary electricity or gas service shutdowns by utilities in the United States, gas shut-off devices are being required at the building owner level by some local governments. In the transportation sector, high-speed rail systems have already demonstrated the ‘proof of concept’ for EEW in several countries, and more EEW systems are being installed. Recently the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) began collaborating with the California Integrated Seismic Network (CISN) and others to assess the potential benefits of EEW technology to mass transit operations and emergency response in the San Francisco Bay region. A key issue in this assessment is that significant earthquakes are likely to occur close to or within the BART system, limiting the time available for an EEW-based response (i.e., slowing or stopping trains). While EEW systems are currently being tested in California, the societal benefits may be even more pronounced in other earthquake-prone parts of the United States. In the central and eastern United States, strong ground motions are felt over significantly larger areas than in California, enabling both a larger area and longer lead times for warnings ahead of the arrival of strong shaking. Because these regions are less resistant to earthquake shaking, such warnings may be even more important for safety and emergency response. However, in many areas a significant increase in the instrumentation density would be required for EEW to become a reality. Although the details of EEW systems are specific to earthquakes, the operation of sensor networks, real-time data analysis, and rapid notification to lifelines is an emerging technology that can be used for real-time detection and early warning of other types of natural and human-caused disasters and emergencies.

Emergency egress requirements for caution and warning, logistics, maintenance, and assembly stage MB-6 of Space Station Freedom

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ray, Paul S.

1992-01-01

The safety and survival of the crewmembers has been the prime concern of NASA. Previous studies have been conducted mainly for emergencies occurring during the operating mode of the fully assembled Station. The present study was conducted to evaluate the emergency requirements for the caution and warning, logistics, maintenance, and assembly stage MB-6 of the Station in space. Effective caution and warning is essential to achieve safe egress in emergencies. In order to survive a long period in space, the safety and emergency requirements for maintenance, logistics, and extravehicular assembly operation in space must be met.

On mitigating rapid onset natural disasters: Project THRUST (Tsunami Hazards Reduction Utilizing Systems Technology)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernard, E. N.; Behn, R. R.; Hebenstreit, G. T.; Gonzalez, F. I.; Krumpe, P.; Lander, J. F.; Lorca, E.; McManamon, P. M.; Milburn, H. B.

Rapid onset natural hazards have claimed more than 2.8 million lives worldwide in the past 20 years. This category includes such events as earthquakes, landslides, hurricanes, tornados, floods, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, and tsunamis. Effective hazard mitigation is particularly difficult in such cases, since the time available to issue warnings can be very short or even nonexistent. This paper presents the concept of a local warning system that exploits and integrates the existing technologies of risk evaluation, environmental measurement, and telecommunications. We describe Project THRUST, a successful implementation of this general, systematic approach to tsunamis. The general approach includes pre-event emergency planning, real-time hazard assessment, and rapid warning via satellite communication links.

Emergency management response to a warning-level Alaska-source tsunami impacting California: Chapter J in The SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) Tsunami Scenario

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, Kevin M.; Long, Kate

2013-01-01

This chapter is directed towards two audiences: Firstly, it targets nonemergency management readers, providing them with insight on the process and challenges facing emergency managers in responding to tsunami Warning, particularly given this “short fuse” scenario. It is called “short fuse” because there is only a 5.5-hour window following the earthquake before arrival of the tsunami within which to evaluate the threat, disseminate alert and warning messages, and respond. This action initiates a period when crisis communication is of paramount importance. An additional dynamic that is important to note is that within 15 minutes of the earthquake, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS) will issue alert bulletins for the entire Pacific Coast. This is one-half the time actually presented by recent tsunamis from Japan, Chile, and Samoa. Second, the chapter provides emergency managers at all levels with insights into key considerations they may need to address in order to augment their existing plans and effectively respond to tsunami events. We look at emergency management response to the tsunami threat from three perspectives:“Top Down” (Threat analysis and Alert/Warning information from the Federal agency charged with Alert and Warning) “Bottom Up” (Emergency management’s Incident Command approach to responding to emergencies and disasters based on the needs of impacted local jurisdictions) “Across Time” (From the initiating earthquake event through emergency response) We focus on these questions: What are the government roles, relationships, and products that support Tsunami Alert and Warning dissemination? (Emergency Planning and Preparedness.) What roles, relationships, and products support emergency management response to Tsunami Warning and impact? (Engendering prudent public safety response.) What are the key emergency management activities, considerations, and challenges brought out by the SAFRR tsunami scenario? (Real emergencies) How do these activities, considerations, and challenges play out as the tsunami event unfolds across the “life” of the event? (Lessons)

Tsunami.gov: NOAA's Tsunami Information Portal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shiro, B.; Carrick, J.; Hellman, S. B.; Bernard, M.; Dildine, W. P.

2014-12-01

We present the new Tsunami.gov website, which delivers a single authoritative source of tsunami information for the public and emergency management communities. The site efficiently merges information from NOAA's Tsunami Warning Centers (TWC's) by way of a comprehensive XML feed called Tsunami Event XML (TEX). The resulting unified view allows users to quickly see the latest tsunami alert status in geographic context without having to understand complex TWC areas of responsibility. The new site provides for the creation of a wide range of products beyond the traditional ASCII-based tsunami messages. The publication of modern formats such as Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) can drive geographically aware emergency alert systems like FEMA's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). Supported are other popular information delivery systems, including email, text messaging, and social media updates. The Tsunami.gov portal allows NOAA staff to easily edit content and provides the facility for users to customize their viewing experience. In addition to access by the public, emergency managers and government officials may be offered the capability to log into the portal for special access rights to decision-making and administrative resources relevant to their respective tsunami warning systems. The site follows modern HTML5 responsive design practices for optimized use on mobile as well as non-mobile platforms. It meets all federal security and accessibility standards. Moving forward, we hope to expand Tsunami.gov to encompass tsunami-related content currently offered on separate websites, including the NOAA Tsunami Website, National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, NOAA Center for Tsunami Research, National Geophysical Data Center's Tsunami Database, and National Data Buoy Center's DART Program. This project is part of the larger Tsunami Information Technology Modernization Project, which is consolidating the software architectures of NOAA's existing TWC's into a single system. We welcome your feedback to help Tsunami.gov become an effective public resource for tsunami information and a medium to enable better global tsunami warning coordination.

Predicting the timing and potential of the spring emergence of overwintered populations of Heliothis spp

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartstack, A. W.; Witz, J. A.; Lopez, J. D. (Principal Investigator)

1981-01-01

The current state of knowledge dealing with the prediction of the overwintering population and spring emergence of Heliothis spp., a serious pest of numerous crops is surveyed. Current literature is reviewed in detail. Temperature and day length are the primary factors which program H. spp. larva for possible diapause. Although studies on the interaction of temperature and day length are reported, the complete diapause induction process is not identified sufficiently to allow accurate prediction of diapause timing. Mortality during diapause is reported as highly variable. The factors causing mortality are identified, but only a few are quantified. The spring emergence of overwintering H. spp. adults and mathematical models which predict the timing of emergence are reviewed. Timing predictions compare favorably to observed field data; however, prediction of actual numbers of emerging moths is not possible. The potential for use of spring emergence predictions in pest management applications, as an early warning of potential crop damage, are excellent. Research requirements to develop such an early warning system are discussed.

National Program for Inspection of Non-Federal Dams. Farm Brook Site 2A Dam (CT 01546), Connecticut Coastal Basin, Hamden, Connecticut. Phase I Inspection Report.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-09-01

01546 NAME OF DAM: Farm Brook Site 2A Darn TO4N: Hamden COUNTY AND STATE: New Haven County, Connecticut STREAM: Wilmot Brook *DATE OF INSPECTION...few lives. Therefore, an emergency operation plan, including a downstream warning system should be prepared and implemented. It is recommended that...3.2 Evaluation 3-4 4. OPERATIONAL & MAINTENANCE PROCEDURES - 4.1 Operational Procedures 4-1 a. General b. Description of any Warning System in Effect

Intersection-Controller Software Module

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bachelder, Aaron; Foster, Conrad

2005-01-01

An important part of the emergency-vehicle traffic-light-preemption system summarized in the preceding article is a software module executed by a microcontroller in each intersection controller. This module monitors the broadcasts from all nearby participating emergency vehicles and intersections. It gathers the broadcast data pertaining to the positions and velocities of the vehicles and the timing of traffic and pedestrian lights and processes the data into predictions of the future positions of the vehicles. Analyzing the predictions by a combination of proximity tests, map-matching techniques, and statistical calculations designed to minimize the adverse effects of uncertainties in vehicle positions and headings, the module decides whether to preempt and issues the appropriate commands to the traffic lights, pedestrian lights, and electronic warning signs at the intersection. The module also broadcasts its state to all nearby vehicles and intersections. The module is designed to mitigate the effects of missing data and of unpredictable delays in the system. It has been intensively tested and refined so that it fails to warn in very few cases and issues very few false warnings.

A SDMS Model: Early Warning Coordination Centres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos-Reyes, Jaime

2010-05-01

Following the tsunami disaster in 2004, the General Secretary of the United Nations (UN) Kofi Annan called for a global early warning system for all hazards and for all communities. He also requested the ISDR (International Strategy fort Disaster Reduction) and its UN partners to conduct a global survey of capacities, gaps and opportunities in relation to early warning systems. The produced report, "Global survey of Early Warning Systems", concluded that there are many gaps and shortcomings and that much progress has been made on early warning systems and great capabilities are available around the world. However, it may be argued that an early warning system (EWS) may not be enough to prevent fatalities due to a natural hazard; i.e., it should be seen as part of a ‘wider' or total system. Furthermore, an EWS may work very well when assessed individually but it is not clear whether it will contribute to accomplish the purpose of the ‘total disaster management system'; i.e., to prevent fatalities. For instance, a regional EWS may only work if it is well co-ordinated with the local warning and emergency response systems that ensure that the warning is received, communicated and acted upon by the potentially affected communities. It may be argued that without these local measures being in place, a regional EWS will have little impact in saving lives. Researchers argued that unless people are warned in remote areas, the technology is useless; for instance McGuire [5] argues that: "I have no doubt that the technical element of the warning system will work very well,"…"But there has to be an effective and efficient communications cascade from the warning centre to the fisherman on the beach and his family and the bar owners." Similarly, McFadden [6] states that: "There's no point in spending all the money on a fancy monitoring and a fancy analysis system unless we can make sure the infrastructure for the broadcast system is there,"… "That's going to require a lot of work. If it's a tsunami, you've got to get it down to the last Joe on the beach. This is the stuff that is really very hard." Given the above, the paper argues that there is a need for a systemic approach to early warning centres. Systemic means looking upon things as a system; systemic means seeing pattern and inter-relationship within a complex whole; i.e., to see events as products of the working of a system. System may be defined as a whole which is made of parts and relationships. Given this, ‘failure' may be seen as the product of a system and, within that, see death/injury/property loss etc. as results of the working of systems. This paper proposes a preliminary model of ‘early warning coordination centres' (EWCC); it should be highlighted that an EWCC is a subsystem of the Systemic Disaster Management System (SDMS) model.

Modeling a Mathematical to Quantify the Degree of Emergency Department Crowding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Y.; Pan, C.; Wen, J.

2012-12-01

The purpose of this study is to deduce a function from the admissions/discharge rate of patient flow to estimate a "Critical Point" that provides a reference for warning systems in regards to crowding in the emergency department (ED) of a hospital or medical clinic. In this study, a model of "Input-Throughput-Output" was used in our established mathematical function to evaluate the critical point. The function was defined as ∂ρ/∂t=-K×∂ρ/∂x , where ρ= number of patients per unit distance (also called density), t= time, x= distance, K= distance of patients movement per unit time. Using the average K of ED crowding, we could initiate the warning system at appropriate time and plan necessary emergency response to facilitate the patient process more smoothly. It was concluded that ED crowding can be quantified using the average value of K, and the value can be used as a reference for medical staff to give optimal emergency medical treatment to patients. Therefore, additional practical work should be launched to collect more precise quantitative data.

76 FR 43937 - Criminal Penalties for Unauthorized Introduction of Weapons and Sabotage

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-22

..., Rockville, Maryland 20852. NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): Publicly... from which a radiological emergency preparedness alert and warning system is activated. II. Discussion... nationally tracked sources that are included in the NRC's National Source Tracking System (i.e., licensees...

Automated Announcements of Approaching Emergency Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bachelder, Aaron; Foster, Conrad

2006-01-01

Street intersections that are equipped with traffic lights would also be equipped with means for generating audible announcements of approaching emergency vehicles, according to a proposal. The means to generate the announcements would be implemented in the intersection- based subsystems of emergency traffic-light-preemption systems like those described in the two immediately preceding articles and in "Systems Would Preempt Traffic Lights for Emergency Vehicles" (NPO-30573), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 28, No. 10 (October 2004), page 36. Preempting traffic lights is not, by itself, sufficient to warn pedestrians at affected intersections that emergency vehicles are approaching. Automated visual displays that warn of approaching emergency vehicles can be helpful as a supplement to preemption of traffic lights, but experience teaches that for a variety of reasons, pedestrians often do not see such displays. Moreover, in noisy and crowded urban settings, the lights and sirens on emergency vehicles are often not noticed until a few seconds before the vehicles arrive. According to the proposal, the traffic-light preemption subsystem at each intersection would generate an audible announcement for example, emergency vehicle approaching, please clear intersection whenever a preemption was triggered. The subsystem would estimate the time of arrival of an approaching emergency vehicle by use of vehicle identity, position, and time data from one or more sources that could include units connected to traffic loops and/or transponders connected to diagnostic and navigation systems in participating emergency vehicles. The intersection-based subsystem would then start the announcement far enough in advance to enable pedestrians to leave the roadway before any emergency vehicles arrive.

Effectiveness of Audible Warning Devices on Emergency Vehicles.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1977-08-01

The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of audible warning devices (AWD's) on emergency vehicles in terms of aural detectability. Community noise intrusion and opportunities for AWD optimization were also investigated. Measurements ...

Volcanic risk and tourism in southern Iceland: Implications for hazard, risk and emergency response education and training

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bird, Deanne K.; Gisladottir, Gudrun; Dominey-Howes, Dale

2010-01-01

This paper examines the relationship between volcanic risk and the tourism sector in southern Iceland and the complex challenge emergency management officials face in developing effective volcanic risk mitigation strategies. An early warning system and emergency response procedures were developed for communities surrounding Katla, the volcano underlying the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap. However, prior to and during the 2007 tourist season these mitigation efforts were not effectively communicated to stakeholders located in the tourist destination of Þórsmörk despite its location within the hazard zone of Katla. The hazard zone represents the potential extent of a catastrophic jökulhlaup (glacial outburst flood). Furthermore, volcanic risk mitigation efforts in Þórsmörk were based solely on information derived from physical investigations of volcanic hazards. They did not consider the human dimension of risk. In order to address this gap and provide support to current risk mitigation efforts, questionnaire surveys were used to investigate tourists' and tourism employees' hazard knowledge, risk perception, adoption of personal preparedness measures, predicted behaviour if faced with a Katla eruption and views on education. Results indicate that tourists lack hazard knowledge and they do not adopt preparedness measures to deal with the consequences of an eruption. Despite a high level of risk perception, tourism employees lack knowledge about the early warning system and emergency response procedures. Results show that tourists are positive about receiving information concerning Katla and its hazards and therefore, the reticence of tourism employees with respect to disseminating hazard information is unjustified. In order to improve the tourism sector's collective capacity to positively respond during a future eruption, recommendations are made to ensure adequate dissemination of hazard, risk and emergency response information. Most importantly education campaigns should focus on: (a) increasing tourists' knowledge of Katla, jökulhlaup and other volcanic hazards and (b) increasing tourist and employee awareness of the early warning and information system and appropriate behavioural response if a warning is issued. Further, tourism employees should be required to participate in emergency training and evacuation exercises annually. These efforts are timely given that Katla is expected to erupt in the near future and international tourism is an expanding industry in Þórsmörk.

The impact of Early Warning Score and Rapid Response Systems on nurses' competence: An integrative literature review and synthesis.

PubMed

Jensen, Jørghild Karlotte; Skår, Randi; Tveit, Bodil

2018-04-01

To describe, interpret and synthesise the current research findings on the impact of the Early Warning Score and Rapid Response Systems on nurses' competence in identifying and managing deteriorating patients in general hospital wards. As patient safety initiatives designed to ensure the early identification and management of deteriorating patients, the Early Warning Score and Rapid Response Systems have broad appeal. However, it is still unclear how these systems impact nurses' competence when these systems are used in general hospital wards. CINAHL, PubMed, Cochrane, EMBASE and Ovid MEDLINE databases were systematically searched for relevant articles. Articles were appraised, a thematic analysis was conducted, and similar and divergent perspectives on emergent themes and subthemes were extracted by a team of researchers. Thirty-six studies met the inclusion criteria. The analysis of findings showed how the Early Warning Score and Rapid Response Systems impacted three competence areas: (i) Nurses' competence in assessing and caring for patients related to the subthemes: (a) sensing clinical deterioration and (b) the development of skills and knowledge. (ii). Nurses' competence in referring patients, related to the subthemes: (a) deciding whether to summon help and (b) the language and communication lines in the referral process. (ii) Nurses' coping and mastery experiences. The impact of the Early Warning Score and Rapid Response Systems on nurses' competence in identifying and managing deteriorating patients is beneficial but also somewhat contradictory. A greater understanding of nurses' development of competence when using the Early Warning Score and Rapid Response Systems will facilitate the design of implementation strategies and the use of these systems to improve practice. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

From Forecasters to the General Public: A Communication Tool to Understand Decision-making Challenges in Weather-related Early Warning Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terti, G.; Ruin, I.; Kalas, M.; Lorini, V.; Sabbatini, T.; i Alonso, A. C.

2017-12-01

New technologies are currently adopted worldwide to improve weather forecasts and communication of the corresponding warnings to the end-users. "EnhANcing emergency management and response to extreme WeatHER and climate Events" (ANYWHERE) project is an innovating action that aims at developing and implementing a European decision-support platform for weather-related risks integrating cutting-edge forecasting technology. The initiative is built in a collaborative manner where researchers, developers, potential users and other stakeholders meet frequently to define needs, capabilities and challenges. In this study, we propose a role-playing game to test the added value of the ANYWHERE platform on i) the decision-making process and the choice of warning levels under uncertainty, ii) the management of the official emergency response and iii) the crisis communication and triggering of protective actions at different levels of the warning system (from hazard detection to citizen response). The designed game serves as an interactive communication tool. Here, flood and flash flood focused simulations seek to enhance participant's understanding of the complexities and challenges embedded in various levels of the decision-making process under the threat of weather disasters (e.g., forecasting/warnings, official emergency actions, self-protection). Also, we facilitate collaboration and coordination between the participants who belong to different national or local agencies/authorities across Europe. The game is first applied and tested in ANYWHERE's workshop in Helsinki (September, 2017) where about 30-50 people, including researchers, forecasters, civil protection and representatives of related companies, are anticipated to play the simulation. The main idea is to provide to the players a virtual case study that well represents realistic uncertainties and dilemmas embedded in the real-time forecasting-warning processes. At the final debriefing step the participants are encouraged to exchange knowledge, thoughts and insights on their capability or difficulty to decide and communicate their action based on the available information and given constrains. Such feedback will be analyzed and presented and future potentialities for the application of the game will be discussed.

RED Alert – Early warning or detection of global re-emerging infectious disease (RED)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deshpande, Alina

This is the PDF of a presentation for a webinar given by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) on the early warning or detection of global re-emerging infectious disease (RED). First, there is an overview of LANL biosurveillance tools. Then, information is given about RED Alert. Next, a demonstration is given of a component prototype. RED Alert is an analysis tool that can provide early warning or detection of the re-emergence of an infectious disease at the global level, but through a local lens.

Design Principles for resilient cyber-physical Early Warning Systems - Challenges, Experiences, Design Patterns, and Best Practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gensch, S.; Wächter, J.; Schnor, B.

2014-12-01

Early warning systems (EWS) are safety-critical IT-infrastructures that serve the purpose of potentially saving lives or assets by observing real-world phenomena and issuing timely warning products to authorities and communities. An EWS consists of sensors, communication networks, data centers, simulation platforms, and dissemination channels. The components of this cyber-physical system may all be affected by both natural hazards and malfunctions of components alike. Resilience engineering so far has mostly been applied to safety-critical systems and processes in transportation (aviation, automobile), construction and medicine. Early warning systems need equivalent techniques to compensate for failures, and furthermore means to adapt to changing threats, emerging technology and research findings. We present threats and pitfalls from our experiences with the German and Indonesian tsunami early warning system, as well as architectural, technological and organizational concepts employed that can enhance an EWS' resilience. The current EWS is comprised of a multi-type sensor data upstream part, different processing and analysis engines, a decision support system, and various warning dissemination channels. Each subsystem requires a set of approaches towards ensuring stable functionality across system layer boundaries, including also institutional borders. Not only must services be available, but also produce correct results. Most sensors are distributed components with restricted resources, communication channels and power supply. An example for successful resilience engineering is the power capacity based functional management for buoy and tide gauge stations. We discuss various fault-models like cause and effect models on linear pathways, interaction of multiple events, complex and non-linear interaction of assumedly reliable subsystems and fault tolerance means implemented to tackle these threats.

On the importance of a correct divulgation of monitoring results for an efficient management of landslide emergencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giordan, Daniele; Manconi, Andrea; Allasia, Paolo

2015-04-01

In the last decades, technological evolution has strongly increased the number of instruments that can be used to monitor landslide phenomena. Robotized Total Stations, GB-InSAR, and GPS are only few examples of the systems that can be used for the control of the topographic changes due to the landslide activity. These monitoring systems are often merged in a complex network, aimed at controlling the most important physical parameters influencing the evolution of landslide activity. The technological level reached by these systems allows us to use them for early warning purposes. Critical thresholds are identified and, when overcome, emergency actions are associated to protect population living in areas potentially involved by landslide failure. The use of these early warning systems can be very useful for the decision makers, which have to manage emergency conditions due to a landslide acceleration likely precursor of a collapse. At this stage, every instrument has a proper management system and the dataset obtained is often not compatible with the results of the others systems. The level of complexity increases with the number of monitoring systems and often could generate a paradox: the source of data are so numerous and difficult to interpret that a full understanding of the phenomenon could be hampered. Nowadays, a correct divulgation of the recent evolution of a landslide potentially dangerous for the population is very important. The Geohazard Monitoring Group of CNR IRPI developed a communication strategy to divulgate the monitoring network results based on both, a dedicated web page (for the publication in near real time of last updates), and periodical bulletins (for a deeper analysis of the available dataset). To manage the near real time application we developed a system called ADVICE (ADVanced dIsplaCement monitoring system for Early warning) that collects all the available data of a monitoring network and creates user-friendly representations of the recent landslide evolution. The system is also able to manage early warnings based on pre-defined thresholds (usually related to the analysis of displacement and/or velocity) sending emails and SMS. Starting from the same dataset, the representations are different if the information has to be delivered to the population or the technicians involved in the landslide emergency. Our communication strategy considers three different levels of representations of the acquired dataset to be able to communicate the results to the different stakeholders potentially involved in the emergency. This communication scheme has been achieved over time, thank to the experience acquired during the management of monitoring networks relevant to different case studies, such as: Mt. de La Saxe Landslide (Aosta Valley, NW Italy), Ripoli landslide (Emilia Romagna region, central Italy), Montaguto landslide (Campania region, south Italy). Here we present how the correct and user-friendly communication of the monitoring results has been an important added value to support decision makers and population during emergency scenarios.

78 FR 70551 - Federal Advisory Committee Act; Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-26

... present an update on topics including emergency warning systems, 9-1-1 location accuracy, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS), and cybersecurity best practices. DATES: December 4, 2013. ADDRESSES: Federal...

Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Modernization Act of 2011

THOMAS, 112th Congress

Rep. Denham, Jeff [R-CA-19

2011-09-13

House - 09/14/2011 Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Modernization Act of 2009

THOMAS, 111th Congress

Rep. Diaz-Balart, Mario [R-FL-25

2009-05-21

House - 05/22/2009 Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

A Feasibility Study for Earthquake Early Warning in a School in Southern Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Emolo, A.; Martino, C.; Picozzi, M.; Zollo, A.; Elia, L.; Festa, G.; Colombelli, S.; Caruso, A.; Brondi, P.; Miranda, N.

2015-12-01

We present the results of a feasibility study on the application of earthquake early-warning procedures in the high school ITIS E. Majorana, Somma Vesuviana, Naples, located about 80 km far from the seismogenic Irpinia region. The study was performed in the framework of the European REAKT project. The school was equipped with an EEWS composed of: a small seismic network of accelerometers, the PRESToPlus software platform, and an actuator, named Sentinel. The Sentinel is made up of low-cost hardware (i.e., Arduino®) programmed to accomplish three main tasks: 1) listen and interpret messages delivered by the EEW system PRESToPlus on the ground motion severity expected at the target site; 2) provides different warnings as alert levels by the control of different hardware (i.e., alarm bells, emergency lights, and so on); 3) declare the end of the most threatening condition, which will assist the emergency coordinator starting the evacuation plan defined by the current legislation. The Sentinel was developed within REAKT in close collaboration with the students and the teachers of the school. The EEW system and the Sentinel were successfully tested during some blind drills performed during normal school activities.

Disparities in adult awareness of heart attack warning signs and symptoms--14 states, 2005.

PubMed

2008-02-22

In 2005, approximately 920,000 persons in the United States had a myocardial infarction (i.e., heart attack); in 2004, approximately 157,000 heart attacks were fatal. One study indicated that approximately half of cardiac deaths occur within 1 hour of symptom onset, before patients reach a hospital. Timely access to emergency cardiac care, receipt of advanced treatment, and potential for surviving a heart attack all depend on 1) early recognition of warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack by persons who are having a heart attack and bystanders and 2) immediately calling 9-1-1. Healthy People 2010 includes an objective to increase from 46% to 50% the proportion of adults aged > or =20 years who are aware of the early warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack and the importance of accessing rapid emergency care by calling 9-1-1 (objective 12-2). To update estimates of public awareness of heart attack warning signs and symptoms and knowledge of the importance of calling 9-1-1, CDC analyzed 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data from the 14 states that included questions on signs and symptoms of a heart attack. This report describes the results of that analysis, which indicated that although the awareness of certain individual warning signs was as high as 93% (i.e., for shortness of breath), awareness of all five warning signs was 31%, underscoring the need for public health measures to increase public awareness of heart attack warning signs and symptoms. In addition, disparities in awareness were observed by race/ethnicity, sex, and level of education, suggesting that new public health measures should target populations with the lowest levels of awareness.

Landslide early warning based on failure forecast models: the example of Mt. de La Saxe rockslide, northern Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manconi, A.; Giordan, D.

2015-02-01

We investigate the use of landslide failure forecast models by exploiting near-real-time monitoring data. Starting from the inverse velocity theory, we analyze landslide surface displacements on different temporal windows, and apply straightforward statistical methods to obtain confidence intervals on the estimated time of failure. Here we describe the main concepts of our method, and show an example of application to a real emergency scenario, the La Saxe rockslide, Aosta Valley region, northern Italy. Based on the herein presented case study, we identify operational thresholds based on the reliability of the forecast models, in order to support the management of early warning systems in the most critical phases of the landslide emergency.

Italian codified hashtags for weather warning on Twitter - who is really using them?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grasso, Valentina; Crisci, Alfonso; Morabito, Marco; Nesi, Paolo; Pantaleo, Gianni; Zaza, Imad; Gozzini, Bernardo

2017-04-01

During emergencies, an increasing number of messages are shared through social media platforms, becoming a primary source of information for lay people and emergency managers. Weather services and institutions have started to employ social media to deliver weather warnings even if sometimes this communication lacks in strategy. In Twitter, for example, hashtagging is very important to associate messages with certain topics; in recent years, codified hashtagging is emerging as a practical way to coordinate Twitter conversations during emergencies and quickly retrieve relevant information. In 2014, a syntax for codified hashtags for weather warning was proposed in Italy: a list of 20 hashtags, realized by combining #allertameteo (weather warning) + XXX, where final letters code the regional identification. This contribution presents a monitoring of Twitter usage of weather warning codified hashtags in Italy (since July 2015) and an analysis of different contexts. Twitter messages were retrieved using TwitterVigilance, a multi-users platform to crawl Twitter data, collect and store messages and perform quantitative analytics, about users, hashtags, tweets/retweets volumes. The Codified Hashtags data set is presented and discussed with main analytics and evaluation of regional contexts where it was successfully employed.

For Emergency Alerts, Some Colleges Try Sirens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Jeffrey R.

2008-01-01

Colleges and universities, ever more mindful of campus safety, are installing outdoor sirens. The systems can blast spoken messages or tone alerts of danger--and one of the preset messages on many of the public-address systems warns: "There is a shooter on campus. Seek shelter immediately." As college officials reviewed their…

49 CFR 234.269 - Cut-out circuits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Inspections and Tests § 234.269 Cut-out... overrides the operation of automatic warning systems. This includes both switch cut-out circuits and devices... 49 Transportation 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Cut-out circuits. 234.269 Section 234.269...

49 CFR 234.269 - Cut-out circuits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Inspections and Tests § 234.269 Cut-out... overrides the operation of automatic warning systems. This includes both switch cut-out circuits and devices... 49 Transportation 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Cut-out circuits. 234.269 Section 234.269...

49 CFR 234.269 - Cut-out circuits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Inspections and Tests § 234.269 Cut-out... overrides the operation of automatic warning systems. This includes both switch cut-out circuits and devices... 49 Transportation 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Cut-out circuits. 234.269 Section 234.269...

75 FR 25842 - Notice of a Grant With the Public Broadcasting Service

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-10

... development of the Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS), a national system to distribute emergency alert...-27 (Feb. 8, 2006) (establishing the National Alert and Tsunami Warning Program); Section 606 of the... requirements to support the distribution of geographically targeted alerts by commercial mobile service...

Mapping Historic Gypsy Moth Defoliation with MODIS Satellite Data: Implications for Forest Threat Early Warning System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spurce, Joseph P.; Hargrove, William; Ryan, Robert E.; Smooth, James C.; Prados, Don; McKellip, Rodney; Sader, Steven A.; Gasser, Jerry; May, George

2008-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews a project, the goal of which is to study the potential of MODIS data for monitoring historic gypsy moth defoliation. A NASA/USDA Forest Service (USFS) partnership was formed to perform the study. NASA is helping USFS to implement satellite data products into its emerging Forest Threat Early Warning System. The latter system is being developed by the USFS Eastern and Western Forest Threat Assessment Centers. The USFS Forest Threat Centers want to use MODIS time series data for regional monitoring of forest damage (e.g., defoliation) preferably in near real time. The study's methodology is described, and the results of the study are shown.

A topology visualization early warning distribution algorithm for large-scale network security incidents.

PubMed

He, Hui; Fan, Guotao; Ye, Jianwei; Zhang, Weizhe

2013-01-01

It is of great significance to research the early warning system for large-scale network security incidents. It can improve the network system's emergency response capabilities, alleviate the cyber attacks' damage, and strengthen the system's counterattack ability. A comprehensive early warning system is presented in this paper, which combines active measurement and anomaly detection. The key visualization algorithm and technology of the system are mainly discussed. The large-scale network system's plane visualization is realized based on the divide and conquer thought. First, the topology of the large-scale network is divided into some small-scale networks by the MLkP/CR algorithm. Second, the sub graph plane visualization algorithm is applied to each small-scale network. Finally, the small-scale networks' topologies are combined into a topology based on the automatic distribution algorithm of force analysis. As the algorithm transforms the large-scale network topology plane visualization problem into a series of small-scale network topology plane visualization and distribution problems, it has higher parallelism and is able to handle the display of ultra-large-scale network topology.

49 CFR 393.25 - Requirements for lamps other than head lamps.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... booms, backhoes, and winches) prevents compliance with this paragraph by any required lamp, an auxiliary... SAE J845—Optical Warning Devices for Authorized Emergency, Maintenance and Service Vehicles, May 1997... Authorized Emergency, Maintenance and Service Vehicles, January 2005. Amber gaseous discharge warning lamps...

49 CFR 393.25 - Requirements for lamps other than head lamps.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... booms, backhoes, and winches) prevents compliance with this paragraph by any required lamp, an auxiliary... SAE J845—Optical Warning Devices for Authorized Emergency, Maintenance and Service Vehicles, May 1997... Authorized Emergency, Maintenance and Service Vehicles, January 2005. Amber gaseous discharge warning lamps...

49 CFR 393.25 - Requirements for lamps other than head lamps.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... booms, backhoes, and winches) prevents compliance with this paragraph by any required lamp, an auxiliary... SAE J845—Optical Warning Devices for Authorized Emergency, Maintenance and Service Vehicles, May 1997... Authorized Emergency, Maintenance and Service Vehicles, January 2005. Amber gaseous discharge warning lamps...

49 CFR 393.25 - Requirements for lamps other than head lamps.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... booms, backhoes, and winches) prevents compliance with this paragraph by any required lamp, an auxiliary... SAE J845—Optical Warning Devices for Authorized Emergency, Maintenance and Service Vehicles, May 1997... Authorized Emergency, Maintenance and Service Vehicles, January 2005. Amber gaseous discharge warning lamps...

49 CFR 393.25 - Requirements for lamps other than head lamps.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... booms, backhoes, and winches) prevents compliance with this paragraph by any required lamp, an auxiliary... SAE J845—Optical Warning Devices for Authorized Emergency, Maintenance and Service Vehicles, May 1997... Authorized Emergency, Maintenance and Service Vehicles, January 2005. Amber gaseous discharge warning lamps...

Implementation of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Augmentation to Tsunami Early Warning Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

LaBrecque, John

2016-04-01

The Global Geodetic Observing System has issued a Call for Participation to research scientists, geodetic research groups and national agencies in support of the implementation of the IUGG recommendation for a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Augmentation to Tsunami Early Warning Systems. The call seeks to establish a working group to be a catalyst and motivating force for the definition of requirements, identification of resources, and for the encouragement of international cooperation in the establishment, advancement, and utilization of GNSS for Tsunami Early Warning. During the past fifteen years the populations of the Indo-Pacific region experienced a series of mega-thrust earthquakes followed by devastating tsunamis that claimed nearly 300,000 lives. The future resiliency of the region will depend upon improvements to infrastructure and emergency response that will require very significant investments from the Indo-Pacific economies. The estimation of earthquake moment magnitude, source mechanism and the distribution of crustal deformation are critical to rapid tsunami warning. Geodetic research groups have demonstrated the use of GNSS data to estimate earthquake moment magnitude, source mechanism and the distribution of crustal deformation sufficient for the accurate and timely prediction of tsunamis generated by mega-thrust earthquakes. GNSS data have also been used to measure the formation and propagation of tsunamis via ionospheric disturbances acoustically coupled to the propagating surface waves; thereby providing a new technique to track tsunami propagation across ocean basins, opening the way for improving tsunami propagation models, and providing accurate warning to communities in the far field. These two new advancements can deliver timely and accurate tsunami warnings to coastal communities in the near and far field of mega-thrust earthquakes. This presentation will present the justification for and the details of the GGOS Call for Participation.

Nurses in Northern Ireland feel blamed for A&E problems, says RCN.

PubMed

2014-08-05

Emergency nurses in Northern Ireland believe they are being scapegoated for delays in A&E departments when these are the result of broader failings in the health and social care system, the RCN has warned.

47 CFR 80.1063 - Special requirements for INMARSAT-E EPIRB stations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... standards contained in IEC 61097-5 Ed. 1.0, titled “Global maritime and distress safety system (GMDSS)—Part... written warning that failure to register the radiobeacon could delay rescue services in an emergency. (e...

47 CFR 80.1063 - Special requirements for INMARSAT-E EPIRB stations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... standards contained in IEC 61097-5 Ed. 1.0, titled “Global maritime and distress safety system (GMDSS)—Part... written warning that failure to register the radiobeacon could delay rescue services in an emergency. (e...

Geoethical issues involved in Tsunami Warning System concepts and operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charalampakis, Marinos; Papadopoulos, Gerassimos A.; Tinti, Stefano

2016-04-01

The main goal of a Tsunami Warning System (TWS) is to mitigate the effect of an incoming tsunami by alerting coastal population early enough to allow people to evacuate safely from inundation zones. Though this representation might seem oversimplified, nonetheless, achieving successfully this goal requires a positive synergy of geoscience, communication, emergency management, technology, education, social sciences, politics. Geoethical issues arise always when there is an interaction between geoscience and society, and TWS is a paradigmatic case where interaction is very strong and is made critical because a) the formulation of the tsunami alert has to be made in a time as short as possible and therefore on uncertain data, and b) any evaluation error (underestimation or overestimation) can lead to serious (and sometimes catastrophic) consequences involving wide areas and a large amount of population. From the geoethical point of view three issues are critical: how to (i) combine forecasts and uncertainties reasonably and usefully, (ii) cope and possibly solve the dilemma whether it is better over-alerting or under-alerting population and (iii) deal with responsibility and liability of geoscientists, TWS operators, emergency operators and coastal population. The discussion will be based on the experience of the Hellenic National Tsunami Warning Center (HL-NTWC, Greece), which operates on 24/7 basis as a special unit of the Institute of Geodynamics, National Observatory of Athens, and acts also as Candidate Tsunami Service Provider (CTSP) in the framework of the North-Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and connected seas Tsunami Warning System (NEAMTWS) of the IOC/UNESCO. Since August 2012, when HL-NTWC was officially declared as operational, 14 tsunami warning messages have been disseminated to a large number of subscribers after strong submarine earthquakes occurring in Greece and elsewhere in the eastern Mediterranean. It is recognized that the alerting process and procedure are quite complex and deserve an open and wide debate, that at the moment seems to be absent from media, scientific community and society, very likely until the next tsunami disaster.

Assessment of early warning system performance and improvements since it is in operational phase in Romania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ionescu, Constantin; Marmureanu, Alexandru; Marmureanu, Gheorghe; Ortansa Cioflan, Carmen

2017-04-01

Earthquake represents a major natural disaster for Romanian territory. The main goal following the occurrence of a strong earthquake is to minimize the total number of fatalities. A rapid early warning system (REWS) was developed in Romania in order to provide 25-35 seconds warning time to Bucharest facilities for the earthquakes with M>5.0. The system consists of four components: a network of strong motion sensors installed in the epicentral area, a redundant communication network, an automatic analyzing system located in the Romanian Data Centre and an alert distribution system. The detection algorithm is based on the magnitude computation using strong motion data and rapid evaluation and scaling relation between the maximum P-wave acceleration measured in the epicentral area and the higher ground motion amplitude recorded in Bucharest. In order to reduce the damages caused by earthquakes, the exploitation of the up to date technology is very important. The information is the key point in the disaster management, and the internet is one of the most used instrument, implying also low costs. The Rapid Early Warning System was expanded to cover all countries affected by major earthquakes originating in the Vrancea seismic area and reduce their impact on existing installations of national interest in neighbouring Romania and elsewhere. REWS provides an efficient instrument for prevention and reaction based on the integrated system for seismic detection in South-Eastern Europe. REWS has been operational since 2013 and sends alert the authorities, hazardous facilities in Romania and Bulgaria (NPP, emergency response agencies etc.) and to public via twitter and some smartphone applications developed in the house. Also, NIEP is part of the UNESCO initiative case on developing a platform on earthquake early warning systems (IP-MEP) that aims to promote and strengthen the development of earthquake early warning systems in earthquake-prone regions of the world by sharing scientific knowledge, capacity building and international cooperation.

Main components and characteristics of landslide early warning systems operational worldwide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piciullo, Luca; Cepeda, José

2017-04-01

During the last decades the number of victims and economic losses due to natural hazards are dramatically increased worldwide. The reason can be mainly ascribed to climate changes and urbanization in areas exposed at high level of risk. Among the many mitigation measures available for reducing the risk to life related to natural hazards, early warning systems certainly constitute a significant cost-effective option available to the authorities in charge of risk management and governance. The aim is to help and protect populations exposed to natural hazards, reducing fatalities when major events occur. Landslide is one of the natural hazards addressed by early warning systems. Landslide early warning systems (LEWSs) are mainly composed by the following four components: set-up, correlation laws, decisional algorithm and warning management. Within this framework, the set-up includes all the preliminary actions and choices necessary for designing a LEWS, such as: the area covered by the system, the types of landslides and the monitoring instruments. The monitoring phase provides a series of important information on different variables, considered as triggering factors for landslides, in order to define correlation laws and thresholds. Then, a decisional algorithm is necessary for defining the: number of warning levels to be employed in the system, decision making procedures, and everything else system managers may need for issuing warnings in different warning zones. Finally the warning management is composed by: monitoring and warning strategy; communication strategy; emergency plan and, everything connected to the social sphere. Among LEWSs operational worldwide, two categories can be defined as a function of the scale of analysis: "local" and "territorial" systems. The scale of analysis influences several actions and aspects connected to the design and employment of the system, such as: the actors involved, the monitoring systems, type of landslide phenomena addressed and variables to be considered for correlations. The characteristics of LEWSs at local scale are strongly affected by numerous constraints and factors, from time to time different, related to the characteristics of the problem they address. Monitoring measures, variables and correlation laws considered for the design and employment of local LEWSs, strongly depends on the type of landslide to be addressed. On the other hand, territorial LEWSs mainly deals with rainfall-induced landslides characterized by fast slope movement. These systems have become a risk management approach, employed worldwide over areas of relevant extension. Before 2005 only few experiences of LEWSs at a regional scale were carried out, such as in: Hong Kong, China; Zhejiang Province, China; San Francisco Bay, California, USA; Appalachians, USA; Oregon, USA; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Since the beginning of the XXI century, increased knowledge on rainfall-landslide correlations and upgraded technologies in weather forecast have promoted the development and improvement of territorial LEWSs around the world.

Performance Analysis of a Citywide Real-time Landslide Early Warning System in Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Joon-Young; Lee, Seung-Rae; Kang, Sinhang; Lee, Deuk-hwan; Nedumpallile Vasu, Nikhil

2017-04-01

Rainfall-induced landslide has been one of the major disasters in Korea since the beginning of 21st century when the global climate change started to give rise to the growth of the magnitude and frequency of extreme precipitation events. In order to mitigate the increasing damage to properties and loss of lives and to provide an effective tool for public officials to manage the landslide disasters, a real-time landslide early warning system with an advanced concept has been developed by taking into account for Busan, the second largest metropolitan city in Korea, as an operational test-bed. The system provides with warning information based on a five-level alert scheme (Normal, Attention, Watch, Alert, and Emergency) using the forecasted/observed rainfall data or the data obtained from ground monitoring (volumetric water content and matric suction). The alert levels are determined by applying seven different thresholds in a step-wise manner following a decision tree. In the pursuit of improved reliability of an early warning level assigned to a specific area, the system makes assessments repetitively using the thresholds of different theoretical backgrounds including statistical(empirical), physically-based, and mathematical analyses as well as direct measurement-based approaches. By mapping the distribution of the five early warning levels determined independently for each of tens of millions grids covering the entire mountainous area of Busan, the regional-scale system can also provide with the early warning information for a specific local area. The fact that the highest warning level is determined by using a concept of a numerically-modelled potential debris-flow risk is another distinctive feature of the system. This study tested the system performance by applying it for four previous rainy seasons in order to validate the operational applicability. During the rainy seasons of 2009, 2011, and 2014, the number of landslides recorded throughout Busan's territory reached 156, 64, and 37, respectively. In 2016, only three landslides were recorded even though the city experienced a couple of heavy rainfall events during the rainy season. The system performance test results show good agreement with the observation results for the past rainfall events. It seems that the system can also provide with reliable warning information for the future rainfall events.

Can mass media influence emergency department visits for stroke?

PubMed

Hodgson, Corinne; Lindsay, Patrice; Rubini, Frank

2007-07-01

Television advertising has been associated with significant increases in the knowledge of the warning signs of stroke among Ontarians aged 45 and older. However, to date there has been little data on the relationship between knowledge of the warning signs of stroke and behavior. Data on presentation to regional and enhanced district stroke center emergency departments were obtained from the Registry of the Canadian Stroke Network for a 31-month period between mid 2003 and the beginning of 2006. Public opinion polling was used to track knowledge of the warning signs of stroke among Ontarians aged 45 and older. The public's awareness of the warning signs of stroke increased during 2003 to 2005, decreasing in 2006 after a 5-month advertising blackout. There was a significant increase in the mean number of emergency department visits for stroke over the study period. A campaign effect independent of year was observed for total presentations, presentation within 5 hours of last seen normal, and presentation within 2.5 hours. For TIAs there was a strong campaign effect but no change in the number of presentations by year. Continuous advertising may be required to build and sustain public awareness of the warning signs of stroke. There are many factors that may influence presentation for stroke and awareness of the warning signs may be only one. However, results of this study suggest there may be an important correlation between the advertising and emergency department presentations with stroke, particularly for TIAs.

Common host-derived chemicals increase catches of disease-transmitting mosquitoes and can improve early warning systems for rift valley fever virus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Rift Valley fever (RVF), a mosquito-borne zoonosis, is a major public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. The emergence and re-emergence of the disease in the last 20 years especially in East Africa, poses a looming health threat which is likely to spread to beyond Africa. This threat is exacerbat...

An Interoperable Architecture for Air Pollution Early Warning System Based on Sensor Web

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samadzadegan, F.; Zahmatkesh, H.; Saber, M.; Ghazi khanlou, H. J.

2013-09-01

Environmental monitoring systems deal with time-sensitive issues which require quick responses in emergency situations. Handling the sensor observations in near real-time and obtaining valuable information is challenging issues in these systems from a technical and scientific point of view. The ever-increasing population growth in urban areas has caused certain problems in developing countries, which has direct or indirect impact on human life. One of applicable solution for controlling and managing air quality by considering real time and update air quality information gathered by spatially distributed sensors in mega cities, using sensor web technology for developing monitoring and early warning systems. Urban air quality monitoring systems using functionalities of geospatial information system as a platform for analysing, processing, and visualization of data in combination with Sensor Web for supporting decision support systems in disaster management and emergency situations. This system uses Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) framework of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), which offers a standard framework that allows the integration of sensors and sensor data into spatial data infrastructures. SWE framework introduces standards for services to access sensor data and discover events from sensor data streams as well as definition set of standards for the description of sensors and the encoding of measurements. The presented system provides capabilities to collect, transfer, share, process air quality sensor data and disseminate air quality status in real-time. It is possible to overcome interoperability challenges by using standard framework. In a routine scenario, air quality data measured by in-situ sensors are communicated to central station where data is analysed and processed. The extracted air quality status is processed for discovering emergency situations, and if necessary air quality reports are sent to the authorities. This research proposed an architecture to represent how integrate air quality sensor data stream into geospatial data infrastructure to present an interoperable air quality monitoring system for supporting disaster management systems by real time information. Developed system tested on Tehran air pollution sensors for calculating Air Quality Index (AQI) for CO pollutant and subsequently notifying registered users in emergency cases by sending warning E-mails. Air quality monitoring portal used to retrieving and visualize sensor observation through interoperable framework. This system provides capabilities to retrieve SOS observation using WPS in a cascaded service chaining pattern for monitoring trend of timely sensor observation.

Early Warning System for reducing disaster risk: the technological platform DEWETRA for the Republic of Serbia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Massabo, Marco; Molini, Luca; Kostic, Bojan; Campanella, Paolo; Stevanovic, Slavimir

2015-04-01

Disaster risk reduction has long been recognized for its role in mitigating the negative environmental, social and economic impacts of natural hazards. Flood Early Warning System is a disaster risk reduction measure based on the capacities of institutions to observe and predict extreme hydro-meteorological events and to disseminate timely and meaningful warning information; it is furthermore based on the capacities of individuals, communities and organizations to prepare and to act appropriately and in sufficient time to reduce the possibility of harm or loss. An operational definition of an Early Warning System has been suggested by ISDR - UN Office for DRR [15 January 2009]: "EWS is the set of capacities needed to generate and disseminate timely and meaningful warning information to enable individuals, communities and organizations threatened by a hazard to prepare and to act appropriately and in sufficient time to reduce the possibility of harm or loss.". ISDR continues by commenting that a people-centered early warning system necessarily comprises four key elements: 1-knowledge of the risks; 2-monitoring, analysis and forecasting of the hazards; 3-communication or dissemination of alerts and warnings; and 4- local capabilities to respond to the warnings received." The technological platform DEWETRA supports the strengthening of the first three key elements of EWS suggested by ISDR definition, hence to improve the capacities to build real-time risk scenarios and to inform and warn the population in advance The technological platform DEWETRA has been implemented for the Republic of Serbia. DEWETRA is a real time-integrate system that supports decision makers for risk forecasting and monitoring and for distributing warnings to end-user and to the general public. The system is based on the rapid availability of different data that helps to establish up-to-date and reliable risk scenarios. The integration of all relevant data for risk management significantly increases the value of available information and the level of knowledge of forecasters and disaster managers. Different data, forecast and monitoring products, which are generated by different national and international institution and organizations, can be visualized and processed in real-time within the platform. DEWETRA is a web application ensuring the capillary distribution of information among institutions. The system is used as an infrastructure for exchanging and sharing data, procedures, models and expertise among the Sector of Emergency Management (SEM), the Republic Hydro-Meteorological Service of Serbia (RHMSS) and the Serbian Public Water Companies (PWCs): Serbia Waters, Vojvodina Waters and Belgrade Waters.

[Design and Application of High-risk Pregnancy Monitoring & Warning Internet Platform Based on Internet of Things].

PubMed

Lu, Heqing; Zhang, Xiaofeng; Li, Bin

2017-09-30

Through illustrating the designing of high-risk pregnancy maternal-fetal monitoring system based on the internet of things, this paper introduced the specific application of using wearable medical devices to provide maternal-fetal mobile medical services. With the help of big data and cloud obstetrics platform, the monitoring and warning network was further improved, the level-to-level administration of high-risk pregnancy was realized, the level of perinatal health care was enhanced and the risk of critical emergency of pregnancy decreased.

The pathway to earthquake early warning in the US

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, R. M.; Given, D. D.; Heaton, T. H.; Vidale, J. E.; West Coast Earthquake Early Warning Development Team

2013-05-01

The development of earthquake early warning capabilities in the United States is now accelerating and expanding as the technical capability to provide warning is demonstrated and additional funding resources are making it possible to expand the current testing region to the entire west coast (California, Oregon and Washington). Over the course of the next two years we plan to build a prototype system that will provide a blueprint for a full public system in the US. California currently has a demonstrations warning system, ShakeAlert, that provides alerts to a group of test users from the public and private sector. These include biotech companies, technology companies, the entertainment industry, the transportation sector, and the emergency planning and response community. Most groups are currently in an evaluation mode, receiving the alerts and developing protocols for future response. The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system is the one group who has now implemented an automated response to the warning system. BART now stops trains when an earthquake of sufficient size is detected. Research and development also continues to develop improved early warning algorithms to better predict the distribution of shaking in large earthquakes when the finiteness of the source becomes important. The algorithms under development include the use of both seismic and GPS instrumentation and integration with existing point source algorithms. At the same time, initial testing and development of algorithms in and for the Pacific Northwest is underway. In this presentation we will review the current status of the systems, highlight the new research developments, and lay out a pathway to a full public system for the US west coast. The research and development described is ongoing at Caltech, UC Berkeley, University of Washington, ETH Zurich, Southern California Earthquake Center, and the US Geological Survey, and is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the US Geological Survey.

Development of a Low Cost Earthquake Early Warning System in Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Y. M.

2017-12-01

The National Taiwan University (NTU) developed an earthquake early warning (EEW) system for research purposes using low-cost accelerometers (P-Alert) since 2010. As of 2017, a total of 650 stations have been deployed and configured. The NTU system can provide earthquake information within 15 s of an earthquake occurrence. Thus, this system may provide early warnings for cities located more than 50 km from the epicenter. Additionally, the NTU system also has an onsite alert function that triggers a warning for incoming P-waves greater than a certain magnitude threshold, thus providing a 2-3 s lead time before peak ground acceleration (PGA) for regions close to an epicenter. Detailed shaking maps are produced by the NTU system within one or two minutes after an earthquake. Recently, a new module named ShakeAlarm has been developed. Equipped with real-time acceleration signals and the time-dependent anisotropic attenuation relationship of the PGA, ShakingAlarm can provide an accurate PGA estimation immediately before the arrival of the observed PGA. This unique advantage produces sufficient lead time for hazard assessment and emergency response, which is unavailable for traditional shakemap, which are based on only the PGA observed in real time. The performance of ShakingAlarm was tested with six M > 5.5 inland earthquakes from 2013 to 2016. Taking the 2016 M6.4 Meinong earthquake simulation as an example, the predicted PGA converges to a stable value and produces a predicted shake map and an isocontour map of the predicted PGA within 16 seconds of earthquake occurrence. Compared with traditional regional EEW system, ShakingAlarm can effectively identify possible damage regions and provide valuable early warning information (magnitude and PGA) for risk mitigation.

Design of early warning system for nuclear preparedness case study at Serpong

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farid, M. M.; Prawito, Susila, I. P.; Yuniarto, A.

2017-07-01

One effort to protect the environment from the increasing of potentially environmental radiation hazards as an impact of radiation discharge around nuclear facilities is by a continuous monitoring of the environmental radiation in real time It is important to disclose the dose rate information to public or authorities for radiological protection. In this research, we have designed a nuclear preparedness early warning system around the Serpong nuclear facility. The design is based on Arduino program, general packet radio service (GPRS) shield, and radio frequencies technology to transmit environmental radiation result of the measurement and meteorological data. Data was collected at a certain location at The Center for Informatics and Nuclear Strategic Zone Utilization BATAN Serpong. The system consistency models are defined by the quality of data and the level of radiation exposure in the deployed environment. Online users can access the website which displays the radiation dose on the environment marked on Google Map. This system is capable to issue an early warning emergency when the dose reaches three times of the background radiation exposure value, 250 nSv/hour.

46 CFR 131.817 - Carbon dioxide warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Carbon dioxide warning signs. 131.817 Section 131.817 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) OFFSHORE SUPPLY VESSELS OPERATIONS Markings for Fire Equipment and Emergency Equipment § 131.817 Carbon dioxide warning signs. Each entrance...

46 CFR 131.817 - Carbon dioxide warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Carbon dioxide warning signs. 131.817 Section 131.817 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) OFFSHORE SUPPLY VESSELS OPERATIONS Markings for Fire Equipment and Emergency Equipment § 131.817 Carbon dioxide warning signs. Each entrance...

46 CFR 131.817 - Carbon dioxide warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Carbon dioxide warning signs. 131.817 Section 131.817 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) OFFSHORE SUPPLY VESSELS OPERATIONS Markings for Fire Equipment and Emergency Equipment § 131.817 Carbon dioxide warning signs. Each entrance...

Suitability of Open-Ocean Instrumentation for Use in Near-Field Tsunami Early Warning Along Seismically Active Subduction Zones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williamson, Amy L.; Newman, Andrew V.

2018-05-01

Over the past decade, the number of open-ocean gauges capable of parsing information about a passing tsunami has steadily increased, particularly through national cable networks and international buoyed efforts such as the Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DART). This information is analyzed to disseminate tsunami warnings to affected regions. However, most current warnings that incorporate tsunami are directed at mid- and far-field localities. In this study, we analyze the region surrounding four seismically active subduction zones, Cascadia, Japan, Chile, and Java, for their potential to facilitate local tsunami early warning using such systems. We assess which locations currently have instrumentation in the right locations for direct tsunami observations with enough time to provide useful warning to the nearest affected coastline—and which are poorly suited for such systems. Our primary findings are that while some regions are ill-suited for this type of early warning, such as the coastlines of Chile, other localities, like Java, Indonesia, could incorporate direct tsunami observations into their hazard forecasts with enough lead time to be effective for coastal community emergency response. We take into account the effect of tsunami propagation with regard to shallow bathymetry on the fore-arc as well as the effect of earthquake source placement. While it is impossible to account for every type of off-shore tsunamigenic event in these locales, this study aims to characterize a typical large tsunamigenic event occurring in the shallow part of the megathrust as a guide in what is feasible with early tsunami warning.

An assessment of seismic monitoring in the United States; requirement for an Advanced National Seismic System

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1999-01-01

This report assesses the status, needs, and associated costs of seismic monitoring in the United States. It sets down the requirement for an effective, national seismic monitoring strategy and an advanced system linking national, regional, and urban monitoring networks. Modernized seismic monitoring can provide alerts of imminent strong earthquake shaking; rapid assessment of distribution and severity of earthquake shaking (for use in emergency response); warnings of a possible tsunami from an offshore earthquake; warnings of volcanic eruptions; information for correctly characterizing earthquake hazards and for improving building codes; and data on response of buildings and structures during earthquakes, for safe, cost-effective design, engineering, and construction practices in earthquake-prone regions.

Emergency Lightning System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1980-01-01

Super Vacuum Manufacturing Company's Stem-Lite Emergency Lighting System is widely used by fire, police, ambulance and other emergency service departments. The lights -- four floodlights which provide 2,000 watts of daytime equivalent visibility and a high-intensity flashing beacon can be elevated 10 feet above the roof of an emergency vehicle by means of an extendible mast. The higher elevation expands the effective radius of the floodlights and increases the beacon's visibility to several miles affording extra warning time to approaching traffic. When not in use, the light can be retracted into the compact rooftop housing. Stem-Lite also includes a generator which can serve to power such emergency equipment as pumps and drills, and a dashboard-mounted control panel for switching the lights and extending or retracting the mast.

A hazard-independent approach for the standardised multi-channel dissemination of warning messages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Esbri Palomares, M. A.; Hammitzsch, M.; Lendholt, M.

2012-04-01

The tsunami disaster affecting the Indian Ocean region on Christmas 2004 demonstrated very clearly the shortcomings in tsunami detection, public warning processes as well as intergovernmental warning message exchange in the Indian Ocean region. In that regard, early warning systems require that the dissemination of early warning messages has to be executed in way that ensures that the message delivery is timely; the message content is understandable, usable and accurate. To that end, diverse and multiple dissemination channels must be used to increase the chance of the messages reaching all affected persons in a hazard scenario. In addition to this, usage of internationally accepted standards for the warning dissemination such as the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) and Emergency Data Exchange Language (EDXL) Distribution Element specified by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) increase the interoperability among different warning systems enabling thus the concept of system-of-systems proposed by GEOSS. The project Distant Early Warning System (DEWS), co-funded by the European Commission under the 6th Framework Programme, aims at strengthening the early warning capacities by building an innovative generation of interoperable tsunami early warning systems based on the above mentioned concepts following a Service-oriented Architecture (SOA) approach. The project focuses on the downstream part of the hazard information processing where customized, user-tailored warning messages and alerts flow from the warning centre to the responsible authorities and/or the public with their different needs and responsibilities. The information logistics services within DEWS generate tailored EDXL-DE/CAP warning messages for each user that must receive the message according to their preferences, e.g., settings for language, interested areas, dissemination channels, etc.. However, the significant difference in the implementation and capabilities of different dissemination channels such as SMS, email and television, have bearing on the information processing required for delivery and consumption of a DEWS EDXL-DE/CAP message over each dissemination channel. These messages may include additional information in the form of maps, graphs, documents, sensor observations, etc. Therefore, the generated messages are pre-processed by channel adaptors in the information dissemination services converting it into a format that is suitable for end-to-end delivery over the dissemination channels without any semantic distortion. The approach followed by DEWS for disseminating warnings not only relies on traditional communication ways used by the already established early warnings such as the delivery of faxes and phone calls but takes into consideration the use of other broadly used communication channels such as SMS, email, narrowcast and broadcast television, instant messaging, Voice over IP, and radio. It also takes advantage of social media channels like RSS feeds, Facebook, Twitter, etc., enabling a multiplier effect, like in the case of radio and television, and thus allowing to create mash-ups by aggregating other sources of information to the original message. Finally, status information is also important in order to assess and understand whether the process of disseminating the warning to the message consumers has been successfully completed or the process failed at some point of the dissemination chain. To that end, CAP-based messages generated within the information dissemination services provide the semantics for those fields that are of interest within the context of reporting the warning dissemination status in DEWS.

Research on Early Warning of Chinese Food Safety Based on Social Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Yonghuan; Niu, Wenyuan; Li, Qianqian

Based on social physics, this paper designs the index system of food safety, builds early warning model of food safety, calculates the degree of food safety, and assesses the state of early warning of 2007 in China. The result shows the degree of food safety is near 0.7 in securer state, belonging to slight emergency. It is much lower in eastern areas of developed regions, belonging to insecure state in the mass. That the food safety is ensured in major grain producing areas, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and Xinjiang is the prerequisite of realizing the food safety of China. The result also shows four significant indices, grain production capacity, grain circulation order, grain demand and grain supply, which are important indicatio to control food safety.

46 CFR 97.37-11 - Carbon dioxide warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Carbon dioxide warning signs. 97.37-11 Section 97.37-11 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) CARGO AND MISCELLANEOUS VESSELS OPERATIONS Markings for Fire and Emergency Equipment, Etc. § 97.37-11 Carbon dioxide warning signs. Each...

46 CFR 97.37-11 - Carbon dioxide warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Carbon dioxide warning signs. 97.37-11 Section 97.37-11 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) CARGO AND MISCELLANEOUS VESSELS OPERATIONS Markings for Fire and Emergency Equipment, Etc. § 97.37-11 Carbon dioxide warning signs. Each...

46 CFR 97.37-11 - Carbon dioxide warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Carbon dioxide warning signs. 97.37-11 Section 97.37-11 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) CARGO AND MISCELLANEOUS VESSELS OPERATIONS Markings for Fire and Emergency Equipment, Etc. § 97.37-11 Carbon dioxide warning signs. Each...

49 CFR 234.203 - Control circuits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Control circuits. 234.203 Section 234.203... EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Maintenance Standards § 234.203 Control circuits. All control circuits that affect the safe operation of a highway-rail grade crossing warning...

49 CFR 234.203 - Control circuits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Control circuits. 234.203 Section 234.203... EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Maintenance Standards § 234.203 Control circuits. All control circuits that affect the safe operation of a highway-rail grade crossing warning...

From Accountability to Prevention: Early Warning Systems Put Data to Work for Struggling Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Cummings, Mindee; Therriault, Susan Bowles

2015-01-01

Educators at all levels care deeply about helping students succeed academically, graduate on time, and emerge from school well prepared for college and careers. Today's emphasis on holding schools accountable for failure--while necessary--is at best a means to an end. Findings from local and statewide accountability systems can help state…

General characteristics of causes of urban flood damage and flood forecasting/warning system in Seoul, Korea Young-Il Moon1, 2, Jong-Suk Kim1, 2 1 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul 130-743, South Korea 2 Urban Flood Research Inst

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moon, Young-Il; Kim, Jong-Suk

2015-04-01

Due to rapid urbanization and climate change, the frequency of concentrated heavy rainfall has increased, causing urban floods that result in casualties and property damage. As a consequence of natural disasters that occur annually, the cost of damage in Korea is estimated to be over two billion US dollars per year. As interest in natural disasters increase, demands for a safe national territory and efficient emergency plans are on the rise. In addition to this, as a part of the measures to cope with the increase of inland flood damage, it is necessary to build a systematic city flood prevention system that uses technology to quantify flood risk as well as flood forecast based on both rivers and inland water bodies. Despite the investment and efforts to prevent landside flood damage, research and studies of landside-river combined hydro-system is at its initial stage in Korea. Therefore, the purpose of this research introduces the causes of flood damage in Seoul and shows a flood forecasting and warning system in urban streams of Seoul. This urban flood forecasting and warning system conducts prediction on flash rain or short-term rainfall by using radar and satellite information and performs prompt and accurate prediction on the inland flooded area and also supports synthetic decision-making for prevention through real-time monitoring. Although we cannot prevent damage from typhoons or localized heavy rain, we can minimize that damage with accurate and timely forecast and a prevention system. To this end, we developed a flood forecasting and warning system, so in case of an emergency there is enough time for evacuation and disaster control. Keywords: urban flooding, flood risk, inland-river system, Korea Acknowledgments This research was supported by a grant (13AWMP-B066744-01) from Advanced Water Management Research Program (AWMP) funded by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korean government.

Searching for Effective Training Solutions for Firefighting: The Analysis of Emergency Responses and Line of Duty Death Reports for Low Frequency, High Risk Events

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-09-01

whether emergency incidents connected to low frequency and high risk events contain sufficient warning signs or indicators of imminent catastrophic... high risk events contain sufficient warning signs or indicators of imminent catastrophic events, if firefighters could identify them, and if there...EFFECTIVE TRAINING SOLUTIONS FOR FIREFIGHTING: THE ANALYSIS OF EMERGENCY RESPONSES AND LINE OF DUTY DEATH REPORTS FOR LOW FREQUENCY, HIGH RISK EVENTS

The role of integrating natural and social science concepts for risk governance and the design of people-centred early warning systems. Case study from the German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System Project (GITEWS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gebert, Niklas; Post, Joachim

2010-05-01

The development of early warning systems are one of the key domains of adaptation to global environmental change and contribute very much to the development of societal reaction and adaptive capacities to deal with extreme events. Especially, Indonesia is highly exposed to tsunami. In average every three years small and medium size tsunamis occur in the region causing damage and death. In the aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami 2004, the German and Indonesian government agreed on a joint cooperation to develop a People Centered End-to-End Early Warning System (GITEWS). The analysis of risk and vulnerability, as an important step in risk (and early warning) governance, is a precondition for the design of effective early warning structures by delivering the knowledge base for developing institutionalized quick response mechanisms of organizations involved in the issuing of a tsunami warning, and of populations exposed to react to warnings and to manage evacuation before the first tsunami wave hits. Thus, a special challenge for developing countries is the governance of complex cross-sectoral and cross-scale institutional, social and spatial processes and requirements for the conceptualization, implementation and optimization of a people centered tsunami early warning system. In support of this, the risk and vulnerability assessment of the case study aims at identifying those factors that constitute the causal structure of the (dis)functionality between the technological warning and the social response system causing loss of life during an emergency situation: Which social groups are likely to be less able to receive and respond to an early warning alert? And, are people able to evacuate in due time? Here, only an interdisciplinary research approach is capable to analyze the socio-spatial and environmental conditions of vulnerability and risk and to produce valuable results for decision makers and civil society to manage tsunami risk in the early warning context. This requires the integration of natural / spatial and social science concepts, methods and data: E.g. a scenario based approach for tsunami inundation modeling was developed to provide decision makers with options to decide up to what level they aim to protect their people and territory, on the contrary household surveys were conducted for the spatial analysis of the evacuation preparedness of the population as a function of place specific hazard, risk, warning and evacuation perception; remote sensing was applied for the spatial analysis (land-use) of the socio-physical conditions of a city and region for evacuation; and existing social / population statistics were combined with land-use data for the precise spatial mapping of the population exposed to tsunami risks. Only by utilizing such a comprehensive assessment approach valuable information for risk governance can be generated. The results are mapped using GIS and designed according to the specific needs of different end-users, such as public authorities involved in the design of warning dissemination strategies, land-use planners (shelter planning, road network configuration) and NGOs mandated to provide education for the general public on tsunami risk and evacuation behavior. The case study of the city of Padang (one of the pilot areas of GITEWS), Indonesia clearly show, that only by intersecting social (vulnerability) and natural hazards research a comprehensive picture on tsunami risk can be provided with which risk governance in the early warning context can be conducted in a comprehensive, systemic and sustainable manner.

Emergency Vehicle Siren Noise Effectiveness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Angela, Peter

Navigating safely through traffic, while responding to an emergency, is often a challenge for emergency responders. To help alert other motorists, these responders use emergency lights and/or sirens. However, the former is useful only if within clear visual range of the other drivers. This shortcoming puts a greater emphasis on the importance of the audible emergency siren, which has its own shortcomings. This study considered several emergency siren systems with the goal to determine the most effective siren system(s) based on several criteria. Multiple experimental measurements and subjective analysis using jury testing using an NVH driving simulator were performed. It was found that the traditional mechanical siren was the most effective audible warning device; however, with significantly reduced electrical power requirements, the low frequency Rumbler siren, in conjunction with a more conventional electronic Yelp siren, was the preferred option. Recommendations for future work are also given.

Strobe Traffic Lights Warn of Approaching Emergency Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bachelder, Aaron

2004-01-01

Strobe-enhanced traffic signals have been developed to aid in the preemption of road intersections for emergency vehicles. The strobe-enhanced traffic signals can be incorporated into both new and pre-existing traffic-control systems in which the traffic-signal heads are of a relatively new type based on arrays of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The strobe-enhanced traffic signals offer a less expensive, less complex alternative to a recently developed system of LED-based warning signs placed next to traffic signals. Because of its visual complexity, the combination of traffic signals and warning signs is potentially confusing to motorists. The strobe-enhanced traffic signals present less visual clutter. In a given traffic-signal head, the strobe-enhanced traffic signal is embedded in the red LED array of the stop signal. Two strobe LED strips one horizontal and one vertical are made capable of operating separately from the rest of the red LED matrix. When no emergency vehicle is approaching, the red LED array functions as a normal stop signal: all the red LEDs are turned on and off together. When the intersection is to be preempted for an approaching emergency vehicle, only the LEDs in one of the strobe strips are lit, and are turned on in a sequence that indicates the direction of approach. For example (see figure), if an emergency vehicle approaches from the right, the strobe LEDs are lit in a sequence moving from right to left. Important to the success of strobe-enhanced traffic signals is conformance to city ordinances and close relation to pre-existing traffic standards. For instance, one key restriction is that new icons must not include arrows, so that motorists will not confuse new icons with conventional arrows that indicate allowed directions of movement. It is also critical that new displays like strobe-enhanced traffic signals be similar to displays used in traffic-control systems in large cities. For example, Charleston, South Carolina uses horizontal strobes on red traffic lights to alert motorists and thereby help motorists not to miss red lights. The one significant potential disadvantage of strobe-enhanced traffic lights is initial unfamiliarity on the part of motorists.

Benefits of Earthquake Early Warning to Large Municipalities (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Featherstone, J.

2013-12-01

The City of Los Angeles has been involved in the testing of the Cal Tech Shake Alert, Earthquake Early Warning (EQEW) system, since February 2012. This system accesses a network of seismic monitors installed throughout California. The system analyzes and processes seismic information, and transmits a warning (audible and visual) when an earthquake occurs. In late 2011, the City of Los Angeles Emergency Management Department (EMD) was approached by Cal Tech regarding EQEW, and immediately recognized the value of the system. Simultaneously, EMD was in the process of finalizing a report by a multi-discipline team that visited Japan in December 2011, which spoke to the effectiveness of EQEW for the March 11, 2011 earthquake that struck that country. Information collected by the team confirmed that the EQEW systems proved to be very effective in alerting the population of the impending earthquake. The EQEW in Japan is also tied to mechanical safeguards, such as the stopping of high-speed trains. For a city the size and complexity of Los Angeles, the implementation of a reliable EQEW system will save lives, reduce loss, ensure effective and rapid emergency response, and will greatly enhance the ability of the region to recovery from a damaging earthquake. The current Shake Alert system is being tested at several governmental organizations and private businesses in the region. EMD, in cooperation with Cal Tech, identified several locations internal to the City where the system would have an immediate benefit. These include the staff offices within EMD, the Los Angeles Police Department's Real Time Analysis and Critical Response Division (24 hour crime center), and the Los Angeles Fire Department's Metropolitan Fire Communications (911 Dispatch). All three of these agencies routinely manage the collaboration and coordination of citywide emergency information and response during times of crisis. Having these three key public safety offices connected and included in the early testing of an EQEW system will help shape the EQEW policy which will determine the seismic safety of millions of Californians in the years to come.

Early Warning Signals of Social Transformation: A Case Study from the US Southwest.

PubMed

Spielmann, Katherine A; Peeples, Matthew A; Glowacki, Donna M; Dugmore, Andrew

2016-01-01

Recent research in ecology suggests that generic indicators, referred to as early warning signals (EWS), may occur before significant transformations, both critical and non-critical, in complex systems. Up to this point, research on EWS has largely focused on simple models and controlled experiments in ecology and climate science. When humans are considered in these arenas they are invariably seen as external sources of disturbance or management. In this article we explore ways to include societal components of socio-ecological systems directly in EWS analysis. Given the growing archaeological literature on 'collapses,' or transformations, in social systems, we investigate whether any early warning signals are apparent in the archaeological records of the build-up to two contemporaneous cases of social transformation in the prehistoric US Southwest, Mesa Verde and Zuni. The social transformations in these two cases differ in scope and severity, thus allowing us to explore the contexts under which warning signals may (or may not) emerge. In both cases our results show increasing variance in settlement size before the transformation, but increasing variance in social institutions only before the critical transformation in Mesa Verde. In the Zuni case, social institutions appear to have managed the process of significant social change. We conclude that variance is of broad relevance in anticipating social change, and the capacity of social institutions to mitigate transformation is critical to consider in EWS research on socio-ecological systems.

75 FR 6343 - Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-09

... Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250-1522. FAX: (202) 720-4120. Title: Weather Radio Transmitter Grant... collection. Abstract: The National Weather Service operates an All Hazards Early Warning System that alerts people in areas covered by its transmissions of approaching dangerous weather and other emergencies. The...

46 CFR 78.47-11 - Carbon dioxide warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 3 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Carbon dioxide warning signs. 78.47-11 Section 78.47-11 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) PASSENGER VESSELS OPERATIONS Markings for Fire and Emergency Equipment, Etc. § 78.47-11 Carbon dioxide warning signs. Each entrance to a space...

46 CFR 78.47-11 - Carbon dioxide warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Carbon dioxide warning signs. 78.47-11 Section 78.47-11 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) PASSENGER VESSELS OPERATIONS Markings for Fire and Emergency Equipment, Etc. § 78.47-11 Carbon dioxide warning signs. Each entrance to a space...

46 CFR 196.37-8 - Carbon dioxide warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Carbon dioxide warning signs. 196.37-8 Section 196.37-8 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH VESSELS OPERATIONS Markings for Fire and Emergency Equipment, etc. § 196.37-8 Carbon dioxide warning signs. Each entrance to a...

46 CFR 196.37-8 - Carbon dioxide warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Carbon dioxide warning signs. 196.37-8 Section 196.37-8 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH VESSELS OPERATIONS Markings for Fire and Emergency Equipment, etc. § 196.37-8 Carbon dioxide warning signs. Each entrance to a...

46 CFR 78.47-11 - Carbon dioxide warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 3 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Carbon dioxide warning signs. 78.47-11 Section 78.47-11 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) PASSENGER VESSELS OPERATIONS Markings for Fire and Emergency Equipment, Etc. § 78.47-11 Carbon dioxide warning signs. Each entrance to a space...

46 CFR 196.37-8 - Carbon dioxide warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Carbon dioxide warning signs. 196.37-8 Section 196.37-8 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH VESSELS OPERATIONS Markings for Fire and Emergency Equipment, etc. § 196.37-8 Carbon dioxide warning signs. Each entrance to a...

Drug Prices and Emergency Department Mentions for Cocaine and Heroin

PubMed Central

Caulkins, Jonathan P.

2001-01-01

Objectives. In this report, the author illustrates the historic relation between retail drug prices and emergency department mentions for cocaine and heroin. Methods. Price series based on the Drug Enforcement Administration's System to Retrieve Information From Drug Evidence database were correlated with data on emergency department mentions from the Drug Abuse Warning Network for cocaine (1978–1996) and heroin (1981–1996). Results. A simple model in which emergency department mentions are driven by only prices explains more than 95% of the variation in emergency department mentions. Conclusions. Fluctuations in prices are an important determinant of adverse health outcomes associated with drugs. PMID:11527779

DISTANT EARLY WARNING SYSTEM for Tsunamis - A wide-area and multi-hazard approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammitzsch, Martin; Lendholt, Matthias; Wächter, Joachim

2010-05-01

The DEWS (Distant Early Warning System) [1] project, funded under the 6th Framework Programme of the European Union, has the objective to create a new generation of interoperable early warning systems based on an open sensor platform. This platform integrates OGC [2] SWE [3] compliant sensor systems for the rapid detection of hazardous events, like earthquakes, sea level anomalies, ocean floor occurrences, and ground displacements in the case of tsunami early warning. Based on the upstream information flow DEWS focuses on the improvement of downstream capacities of warning centres especially by improving information logistics for effective and targeted warning message aggregation for a multilingual environment. Multiple telecommunication channels will be used for the dissemination of warning messages. Wherever possible, existing standards have been integrated. The Command and Control User Interface (CCUI), a rich client application based on Eclipse RCP (Rich Client Platform) [4] and the open source GIS uDig [5], integrates various OGC services. Using WMS (Web Map Service) [6] and WFS (Web Feature Service) [7] spatial data are utilized to depict the situation picture and to integrate a simulation system via WPS (Web Processing Service) [8] to identify affected areas. Warning messages are compiled and transmitted in the OASIS [9] CAP (Common Alerting Protocol) [10] standard together with addressing information defined via EDXL-DE (Emergency Data Exchange Language - Distribution Element) [11]. Internal interfaces are realized with SOAP [12] web services. Based on results of GITEWS [13] - in particular the GITEWS Tsunami Service Bus [14] - the DEWS approach provides an implementation for tsunami early warning systems but other geological paradigms are going to follow, e.g. volcanic eruptions or landslides. Therefore in future also multi-hazard functionality is conceivable. The specific software architecture of DEWS makes it possible to dock varying sensors to the system and to extend the CCUI with hazard specific functionality. The presentation covers the DEWS project, the system architecture and the CCUI in conjunction with details of information logistics. The DEWS Wide Area Centre connecting national centres to allow the international communication and warning exchange is presented also. REFERENCES: [1] DEWS, www.dews-online.org [2] OGC, www.opengeospatial.org [3] SWE, www.opengeospatial.org/projects/groups/sensorweb [4] Eclipse RCP, www.eclipse.org/home/categories/rcp.php [5] uDig, udig.refractions.net [6] WMS, www.opengeospatial.org/standards/wms [7] WFS, www.opengeospatial.org/standards/wfs [8] WPS, www.opengeospatial.org/standards/wps [9] OASIS, www.oasis-open.org [10] CAP, www.oasis-open.org/specs/#capv1.1 [11] EDXL-DE, www.oasis-open.org/specs/#edxlde-v1.0 [12] SOAP, www.w3.org/TR/soap [13] GITEWS (German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System) is a project of the German Federal Government to aid the recon¬struction of the tsunami-prone Indian Ocean region, www.gitews.org [14] The Tsunami Service Bus is the GITEWS sensor system integration platform offering standardised services for the detection and monitoring of tsunamis

Research, Teaching and Performance Evaluation in Academia: The Salience of Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cadez, Simon; Dimovski, Vlado; Zaman Groff, Maja

2017-01-01

The workload of most academics involves two main activities: research and teaching. Despite the dual nature of the work, career advancement usually chiefly depends on research performance. Since academics are rational actors, warnings are beginning to emerge that current predominantly research-based performance evaluation systems may be…

Oak Ridge Reservation Public Warning Siren System Annual Test Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

R. F. Gee

2000-10-01

The full operational test of the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) Public Warning Siren System (PWSS) was successfully conducted on September 27, 2000. The annual test is a full-scale sounding of the individual siren systems around each of the three Department of Energy (DOE) sites in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The purpose of the annual test is to demonstrate and validate the siren systems' ability to alert personnel outdoors in the Immediate Notification Zones (INZ) (approximately two miles) around each site. The success of this test is based on two critical functions of the siren system. The first function is system operability.more » The system is considered operable if 90% of the sirens are operational. System diagnostics and direct field observations were used to validate the operability of the siren systems. Based on the diagnostic results and field observations, greater than 90% of the sirens were considered operational. The second function is system audibility. The system is considered audible if the siren could be heard in the immediate notification zones around each of the three sites. Direct field observations, along with sound level measurements, were used to validate the audibility of the siren system. Based on the direct field observations and sound level measurements, the siren system was considered audible. The combination of field observations, system diagnostic status reports, and sound level measurements provided a high level of confidence that the system met and would meet operational requirements upon demand. As part of the overall system test, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) activated the Emergency Alerting System (EAS), which utilized area radio stations to make announcements regarding the test and to remind residents of what to do in the event of an actual emergency.« less

Exploring the utility of real-time hydrologic data for landslide early warning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirus, B. B.; Smith, J. B.; Becker, R.; Baum, R. L.; Koss, E.

2017-12-01

Early warning systems can provide critical information for operations managers, emergency planners, and the public to help reduce fatalities, injuries, and economic losses due to landsliding. For shallow, rainfall-triggered landslides early warning systems typically use empirical rainfall thresholds, whereas the actual triggering mechanism involves the non-linear hydrological processes of infiltration, evapotranspiration, and hillslope drainage that are more difficult to quantify. Because hydrologic monitoring has demonstrated that shallow landslides are often preceded by a rise in soil moisture and pore-water pressures, some researchers have developed early warning criteria that attempt to account for these antecedent wetness conditions through relatively simplistic storage metrics or soil-water balance modeling. Here we explore the potential for directly incorporating antecedent wetness into landslide early warning criteria using recent landslide inventories and in-situ hydrologic monitoring near Seattle, WA, and Portland, OR. We use continuous, near-real-time telemetered soil moisture and pore-water pressure data measured within a few landslide-prone hillslopes in combination with measured and forecasted rainfall totals to inform easy-to-interpret landslide initiation thresholds. Objective evaluation using somewhat limited landslide inventories suggests that our new thresholds based on subsurface hydrologic monitoring and rainfall data compare favorably to the capabilities of existing rainfall-only thresholds for the Seattle area, whereas there are no established rainfall thresholds for the Portland area. This preliminary investigation provides a proof-of-concept for the utility of developing landslide early warning criteria in two different geologic settings using real-time subsurface hydrologic measurements from in-situ instrumentation.

What impact did a Paediatric Early Warning system have on emergency admissions to the paediatric intensive care unit? An observational cohort study.

PubMed

Sefton, G; McGrath, C; Tume, L; Lane, S; Lisboa, P J G; Carrol, E D

2015-04-01

The ideology underpinning Paediatric Early Warning systems (PEWs) is that earlier recognition of deteriorating in-patients would improve clinical outcomes. To explore how the introduction of PEWs at a tertiary children's hospital affects emergency admissions to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and the impact on service delivery. To compare 'in-house' emergency admissions to PICU with 'external' admissions transferred from District General Hospitals (without PEWs). A before-and-after observational study August 2005-July 2006 (pre), August 2006-July 2007 (post) implementation of PEWs at the tertiary children's hospital. The median Paediatric Index of Mortality (PIM2) reduced; 0.44 vs 0.60 (p<0.001). Fewer admissions required invasive ventilation 62.7% vs 75.2% (p=0.015) for a shorter median duration; four to two days. The median length of PICU stay reduced; five to three days (p=0.002). There was a non-significant reduction in mortality (p=0.47). There was no comparable improvement in outcome seen in external emergency admissions to PICU. A 39% reduction in emergency admission total beds days reduced cancellation of major elective surgical cases and refusal of external PICU referrals. Following introduction of PEWs at a tertiary children's hospital PIM2 was reduced, patients required less PICU interventions and had a shorter length of stay. PICU service delivery improved. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Warning! fire in the ICU.

PubMed

Rispoli, Fabio; Iannuzzi, Michele; De Robertis, Edoardo; Piazza, Ornella; Servillo, Giuseppe; Tufano, Rosalba

2014-06-01

At 5:30 pm on December 17, 2010, shortly after a power failure, smoke filled the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Federico II University Hospital in Naples, Italy, triggering the hospital emergency alarm system. Immediately, staff began emergency procedures and alerted rescue teams. All patients were transferred without harm. The smoke caused pharyngeal and conjunctival irritation in some staff members. After a brief investigation, firefighters discovered the cause of the fire was a failure of the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS).

Red warning for air pollution in China: Exploring residents' perceptions of the first two red warnings in Beijing.

PubMed

Zhao, Hanping; Wang, Fangping; Niu, Chence; Wang, Han; Zhang, Xiaoxue

2018-02-01

Air pollution early warnings have been issued in China to mitigate the effects of high pollution days. Public perceptions and views about early warning signals can affect individual behaviors and play a major role in the public's response to air pollution risks. This study examined public attitudes and responses to the first two red warnings for air pollution in Beijing in 2015. An online survey was sent out, and 664 respondents (response rate = 90%) provided their perspectives on the red warnings. Descriptive statistics, sign tests and binary logit models were used to analyze the data. More than half of the respondents reported that their life and work were affected by the red warning in December 2015. In contrast to their perceptions about the second red warning period, the public thought that the first red warning should have been issued earlier and that the number of consecutive days of warnings should have been reduced. The respondents also recommended that instead of reducing the number of red warnings, the red warning emergency measures should be adjusted. Specifically, the public preferred the installation of air purifiers in schools rather than closing schools and strengthening road flushing and dust pollution controls over restrictions on driving. Data analyses were conducted to examine the affected groups and different groups' perceptions of the necessity of implementing emergency measures. The results indicated that men and more educated respondents were more likely to be affected by driving limitations, and men were less supportive of these limitations. The age and education of respondents were significantly negatively associated with the opinion that schools should be closed, whereas wealthier respondents were more supportive of school closings. The finding of a negative attitude among the public toward the first two red warnings may be used to help local governments modify protective measures and pollution mitigation initiatives to increase acceptance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A spatiotemporal dengue fever early warning model accounting for nonlinear associations with meteorological factors: a Bayesian maximum entropy approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Chieh-Han; Yu, Hwa-Lung; Chien, Lung-Chang

2014-05-01

Dengue fever has been identified as one of the most widespread vector-borne diseases in tropical and sub-tropical. In the last decade, dengue is an emerging infectious disease epidemic in Taiwan especially in the southern area where have annually high incidences. For the purpose of disease prevention and control, an early warning system is urgently needed. Previous studies have showed significant relationships between climate variables, in particular, rainfall and temperature, and the temporal epidemic patterns of dengue cases. However, the transmission of the dengue fever is a complex interactive process that mostly understated the composite space-time effects of dengue fever. This study proposes developing a one-week ahead warning system of dengue fever epidemics in the southern Taiwan that considered nonlinear associations between weekly dengue cases and meteorological factors across space and time. The early warning system based on an integration of distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM) and stochastic Bayesian Maximum Entropy (BME) analysis. The study identified the most significant meteorological measures including weekly minimum temperature and maximum 24-hour rainfall with continuous 15-week lagged time to dengue cases variation under condition of uncertainty. Subsequently, the combination of nonlinear lagged effects of climate variables and space-time dependence function is implemented via a Bayesian framework to predict dengue fever occurrences in the southern Taiwan during 2012. The result shows the early warning system is useful for providing potential outbreak spatio-temporal prediction of dengue fever distribution. In conclusion, the proposed approach can provide a practical disease control tool for environmental regulators seeking more effective strategies for dengue fever prevention.

Building a Communication, Education, an Outreach Program for the ShakeAlert National Earthquake Early Warning Program - Recommendations for Public Alerts Via Cell Phones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeGroot, R. M.; Long, K.; Strauss, J. A.

2017-12-01

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and its partners are developing the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System for the West Coast of the United States. To be an integral part of successful implementation, ShakeAlert engagement programs and materials must integrate with and leverage broader earthquake risk programs. New methods and products for dissemination must be multidisciplinary, cost effective, and consistent with existing hazards education and communication efforts. The ShakeAlert Joint Committee for Communication, Education, and Outreach (JCCEO), is identifying, developing, and cultivating partnerships with ShakeAlert stakeholders including Federal, State, academic partners, private companies, policy makers, and local organizations. Efforts include developing materials, methods for delivery, and reaching stakeholders with information on ShakeAlert, earthquake preparedness, and emergency protective actions. It is essential to develop standards to ensure information communicated via the alerts is consistent across the public and private sector and achieving a common understanding of what actions users take when they receive a ShakeAlert warning. In February 2017, the JCCEO convened the Warning Message Focus Group (WMFG) to provide findings and recommendations to the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions on the use of earthquake early warning message content standards for public alerts via cell phones. The WMFG represents communications, education, and outreach stakeholders from various sectors including ShakeAlert regional coordinators, industry, emergency managers, and subject matter experts from the social sciences. The group knowledge was combined with an in-depth literature review to ensure that all groups who could receive the message would be taken into account. The USGS and the participating states and agencies acknowledge that the implementation of ShakeAlert is a collective effort requiring the participation of hundreds of stakeholders committed to ensuring public accessibility.

Flash flood warnings for ungauged basins based on high-resolution precipitation forecasts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demargne, Julie; Javelle, Pierre; Organde, Didier; de Saint Aubin, Céline; Janet, Bruno

2016-04-01

Early detection of flash floods, which are typically triggered by severe rainfall events, is still challenging due to large meteorological and hydrologic uncertainties at the spatial and temporal scales of interest. Also the rapid rising of waters necessarily limits the lead time of warnings to alert communities and activate effective emergency procedures. To better anticipate such events and mitigate their impacts, the French national service in charge of flood forecasting (SCHAPI) is implementing a national flash flood warning system for small-to-medium (up to 1000 km²) ungauged basins based on a discharge-threshold flood warning method called AIGA (Javelle et al. 2014). The current deterministic AIGA system has been run in real-time in the South of France since 2005 and has been tested in the RHYTMME project (rhytmme.irstea.fr/). It ingests the operational radar-gauge QPE grids from Météo-France to run a simplified hourly distributed hydrologic model at a 1-km² resolution every 15 minutes. This produces real-time peak discharge estimates along the river network, which are subsequently compared to regionalized flood frequency estimates to provide warnings according to the AIGA-estimated return period of the ongoing event. The calibration and regionalization of the hydrologic model has been recently enhanced for implementing the national flash flood warning system for the entire French territory by 2016. To further extend the effective warning lead time, the flash flood warning system is being enhanced to ingest Météo-France's AROME-NWC high-resolution precipitation nowcasts. The AROME-NWC system combines the most recent available observations with forecasts from the nowcasting version of the AROME convection-permitting model (Auger et al. 2015). AROME-NWC pre-operational deterministic precipitation forecasts, produced every hour at a 2.5-km resolution for a 6-hr forecast horizon, were provided for 3 significant rain events in September and November 2014 and ingested as time-lagged ensembles. The time-lagged approach is a practical choice of accounting for the atmospheric forecast uncertainty when no extensive forecast archive is available for statistical modelling. The evaluation on 185 basins in the South of France showed significant improvements in terms of flash flood event detection and effective warning lead-time, compared to warnings from the current AIGA setup (without any future precipitation). Various verification metrics (e.g., Relative Mean Error, Brier Skill Score) show the skill of ensemble precipitation and flow forecasts compared to single-valued persistency benchmarks. Planned enhancements include integrating additional probabilistic NWP products (e.g., AROME precipitation ensembles on longer forecast horizon), accounting for and reducing hydrologic uncertainties from the model parameters and initial conditions via data assimilation, and developing a comprehensive observational and post-event damage database to determine decision-relevant warning thresholds for flood magnitude and probability. Javelle, P., Demargne, J., Defrance, D., Arnaud, P., 2014. Evaluating flash flood warnings at ungauged locations using post-event surveys: a case study with the AIGA warning system. Hydrological Sciences Journal, doi: 10.1080/02626667.2014.923970 Auger, L., Dupont, O., Hagelin, S., Brousseau, P., Brovelli, P., 2015. AROME-NWC: a new nowcasting tool based on an operational mesoscale forecasting system. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 141: 1603-1611, doi: 10.1002/qj.2463

The impact of the disease early warning system in responding to natural disasters and conflict crises in Pakistan.

PubMed

Rahim, M; Kazi, B M; Bile, K M; Munir, M; Khan, A R

2010-01-01

The disease early warning system (DEWS) was introduced in the immediate aftermath of the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, with the objective to undertake prompt investigation and mitigation of disease outbreaks. The DEWS network was replicated successfully during subsequent flood and earthquake disasters as well as during the 2008-09 internally displaced persons' crisis. DEWS-generated alerts, prompt investigations and timely responses had an effective contribution to the control of epidemics. Through DEWS, 1360 reported alerts during 2005-09 averted the risk of disease outbreaks through pre-emptive necessary measures, while the 187 confirmed outbreaks were effectively controlled. In the aftermath of the disasters, DEWS technology also facilitated the development of a disease-surveillance system that became an integral part of the district health system. This study aims to report the DEWS success and substantiate its lead role as a priority emergency health response intervention.

The journalist's role in bioethics.

PubMed

Rosenfeld, A

1999-04-01

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, emerging advances in the biomedical sciences raised insufficiently noticed ethical issues, prompting science reporters to serve as a sort of Early Warning System. As awareness of bioethical issues increased rapidly everywhere, and bioethics itself arrived as a recognized discipline, the need for this early-warning press role has clearly diminished. A secondary but important role for the science journalist is that of investigative reporter/whistleblower, as in the Tuskegee syphilis trials and the government's secret plutonium experiments. Because the general public gets most of its information from the popular media, ways are suggested for journalists and bioethicists to work together.

Utility of flood warning systems for emergency management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molinari, Daniela; Ballio, Francesco; Menoni, Scira

2010-05-01

The presentation is focused on a simple and crucial question for warning systems: are flood and hydrological modelling and forecasting helpful to manage flood events? Indeed, it is well known that a warning process can be invalidated by inadequate forecasts so that the accuracy and robustness of the previsional model is a key issue for any flood warning procedure. However, one problem still arises at this perspective: when forecasts can be considered to be adequate? According to Murphy (1993, Wea. Forecasting 8, 281-293), forecasts hold no intrinsic value but they acquire it through their ability to influence the decisions made by their users. Moreover, we can add that forecasts value depends on the particular problem at stake showing, this way, a multifaceted nature. As a result, forecasts verification should not be seen as a universal process, instead it should be tailored to the particular context in which forecasts are implemented. This presentation focuses on warning problems in mountain regions, whereas the short time which is distinctive of flood events makes the provision of adequate forecasts particularly significant. In this context, the quality of a forecast is linked to its capability to reduce the impact of a flood by improving the correctness of the decision about issuing (or not) a warning as well as of the implementation of a proper set of actions aimed at lowering potential flood damages. The present study evaluates the performance of a real flood forecasting system from this perspective. In detail, a back analysis of past flood events and available verification tools have been implemented. The final objective was to evaluate the system ability to support appropriate decisions with respect not only to the flood characteristics but also to the peculiarities of the area at risk as well as to the uncertainty of forecasts. This meant to consider also flood damages and forecasting uncertainty among the decision variables. Last but not least, the presentation explains how the procedure implemented in the case study could support the definition of a proper warning rule.

Early Warning Signals of Social Transformation: A Case Study from the US Southwest

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Recent research in ecology suggests that generic indicators, referred to as early warning signals (EWS), may occur before significant transformations, both critical and non-critical, in complex systems. Up to this point, research on EWS has largely focused on simple models and controlled experiments in ecology and climate science. When humans are considered in these arenas they are invariably seen as external sources of disturbance or management. In this article we explore ways to include societal components of socio-ecological systems directly in EWS analysis. Given the growing archaeological literature on ‘collapses,’ or transformations, in social systems, we investigate whether any early warning signals are apparent in the archaeological records of the build-up to two contemporaneous cases of social transformation in the prehistoric US Southwest, Mesa Verde and Zuni. The social transformations in these two cases differ in scope and severity, thus allowing us to explore the contexts under which warning signals may (or may not) emerge. In both cases our results show increasing variance in settlement size before the transformation, but increasing variance in social institutions only before the critical transformation in Mesa Verde. In the Zuni case, social institutions appear to have managed the process of significant social change. We conclude that variance is of broad relevance in anticipating social change, and the capacity of social institutions to mitigate transformation is critical to consider in EWS research on socio-ecological systems. PMID:27706200

A Walk through TRIDEC's intermediate Tsunami Early Warning System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammitzsch, M.; Reißland, S.; Lendholt, M.

2012-04-01

The management of natural crises is an important application field of the technology developed in the project Collaborative, Complex, and Critical Decision-Support in Evolving Crises (TRIDEC), co-funded by the European Commission in its Seventh Framework Programme. TRIDEC is based on the development of the German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) and the Distant Early Warning System (DEWS) providing a service platform for both sensor integration and warning dissemination. In TRIDEC new developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are used to extend the existing platform realising a component-based technology framework for building distributed tsunami warning systems for deployment, e.g. in the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Connected Seas (NEAM) region. The TRIDEC system will be implemented in three phases, each with a demonstrator. Successively, the demonstrators are addressing challenges, such as the design and implementation of a robust and scalable service infrastructure supporting the integration and utilisation of existing resources with accelerated generation of large volumes of data. These include sensor systems, geo-information repositories, simulation tools and data fusion tools. In addition to conventional sensors also unconventional sensors and sensor networks play an important role in TRIDEC. The system version presented is based on service-oriented architecture (SOA) concepts and on relevant standards of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS). In this way the system continuously gathers, processes and displays events and data coming from open sensor platforms to enable operators to quickly decide whether an early warning is necessary and to send personalized warning messages to the authorities and the population at large through a wide range of communication channels. The system integrates OGC Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) compliant sensor systems for the rapid detection of hazardous events, like earthquakes, sea level anomalies, ocean floor occurrences, and ground displacements. Using OGC Web Map Service (WMS) and Web Feature Service (WFS) spatial data are utilized to depict the situation picture. The integration of a simulation system to identify affected areas is considered using the OGC Web Processing Service (WPS). Warning messages are compiled and transmitted in the OASIS Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) together with addressing information defined via the OASIS Emergency Data Exchange Language - Distribution Element (EDXL-DE). The first system demonstrator has been designed and implemented to support plausible scenarios demonstrating the treatment of simulated tsunami threats with an essential subset of a National Tsunami Warning Centre (NTWC). The feasibility and the potentials of the implemented approach are demonstrated covering standard operations as well as tsunami detection and alerting functions. The demonstrator presented addresses information management and decision-support processes in a hypothetical natural crisis situation caused by a tsunami in the Eastern Mediterranean. Developments of the system are based to the largest extent on free and open source software (FOSS) components and industry standards. Emphasis has been and will be made on leveraging open source technologies that support mature system architecture models wherever appropriate. All open source software produced is foreseen to be published on a publicly available software repository thus allowing others to reuse results achieved and enabling further development and collaboration with a wide community including scientists, developers, users and stakeholders. This live demonstration is linked with the talk "TRIDEC Natural Crisis Management Demonstrator for Tsunamis" (EGU2012-7275) given in the session "Architecture of Future Tsunami Warning Systems" (NH5.7/ESSI1.7).

78 FR 69851 - Federal Advisory Committee Act; Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-21

... present an update on topics including emergency warning systems, 9-1-1 location accuracy, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS), and cybersecurity best practices. DATES: December 4, 2013. ADDRESSES: Federal... Designated Federal Officer, by email to [email protected] or U.S. Postal Service Mail to Jeffery...

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives concerning the need for a comprehensive public alert and warning system for the United States, and for other purposes.

THOMAS, 112th Congress

Rep. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA-6

2012-05-31

House - 06/01/2012 Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Vulnerabilities of macrophytes distribution due to climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hossain, Kaizar; Yadav, Sarita; Quaik, Shlrene; Pant, Gaurav; Maruthi, A. Y.; Ismail, Norli

2017-08-01

The rise in the earth's surface and water temperature is part of the effect of climatic change that has been observed for the last decade. The rates of climate change are unprecedented, and biological responses to these changes have also been prominent in all levels of species, communities and ecosystems. Aquatic-terrestrial ecotones are vulnerable to climate change, and degradation of the emergent aquatic macrophyte zone would have contributed severe ecological consequences for freshwater, wetland and terrestrial ecosystems. Most researches on climate change effects on biodiversity are contemplating on the terrestrial realm, and considerable changes in terrestrial biodiversity and species' distributions have been detected in response to climate change. This is unfortunate, given the importance of aquatic systems for providing ecosystem goods and services. Thus, if researchers were able to identify early-warning indicators of anthropogenic environmental changes on aquatic species, communities and ecosystems, it would certainly help to manage and conserve these systems in a sustainable way. One of such early-warning indicators concerns the expansion of emergent macrophytes in aquatic-terrestrial ecotones. Hence, this review highlights the impact of climatic changes towards aquatic macrophytes and their possible environmental implications.

Number of warning information sources and decision making during tornadoes.

PubMed

Luo, Jianjun; Cong, Zhen; Liang, Daan

2015-03-01

Taking proper protective action upon receiving tornado warnings is critical to reducing casualties. With more warning information sources becoming available, how the number of such information sources affects decision making should be quantitatively investigated. To examine how the number of warning information sources affected individuals' decisions to take protective action during tornadoes. A telephone survey using random sampling was conducted in 2012 with residents in Tuscaloosa AL and Joplin MO, resulting in a working sample of 782 respondents. Both cities were struck by violent tornadoes (Enhanced Fujita Scale [EF]4 and EF5) in 2011. The analysis was conducted in 2013. Logistic regression analysis showed that relative to having only one warning information source, having two and three or more warning information sources significantly increased the odds of taking protective action in Joplin but not in Tuscaloosa; having three or more sources had a significantly stronger effect on taking protective action in Joplin than in Tuscaloosa. Having an emergency preparation plan in both cities and being white in Tuscaloosa significantly increased the odds of taking protective action, whereas being divorced in Joplin reduced these odds. Receiving warnings from more warning information sources might be more beneficial in places with less previous exposure to tornadoes and for populations with lower awareness of a potential tornado and higher probability of receiving no warnings. Emergency management agencies and public health officials should give priority to these places and populations when formulating disaster mitigation decisions and policies. Copyright © 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Technology transfer: Transportation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anyos, T.; Christy, L.; Lizak, R.; Wilhelm, J.

1978-01-01

The successful application of aerospace technology to problems related to highways and rail and rapid transit systems is described with emphasis on the use of corrosion resistant paints, fire retardant materials, and law enforcement. Possible areas for the use of spinoff from NASA technology by the California State Department of Corrections are identified. These include drug detection, security and warning systems, and the transportation and storage of food. A communication system for emergency services is also described.

Anticipating the emergence of infectious diseases

PubMed Central

Drake, John M.; Rohani, Pejman

2017-01-01

In spite of medical breakthroughs, the emergence of pathogens continues to pose threats to both human and animal populations. We present candidate approaches for anticipating disease emergence prior to large-scale outbreaks. Through use of ideas from the theories of dynamical systems and stochastic processes we develop approaches which are not specific to a particular disease system or model, but instead have general applicability. The indicators of disease emergence detailed in this paper can be classified into two parallel approaches: a set of early-warning signals based around the theory of critical slowing down and a likelihood-based approach. To test the reliability of these two approaches we contrast theoretical predictions with simulated data. We find good support for our methods across a range of different model structures and parameter values. PMID:28679666

Development of gas fire detection system using tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Y. L.; Li, G.; Yang, T.; Wang, J. J.

2017-01-01

The conventional fire detection methods mainly produce an alarm through detecting the changes in smoke concentration, flame radiation, heat and other physical parameters in the environment, but are unable to provide an early warning of a fire emergency. We have designed a gas fire detection system with a high detection sensitivity and high selectivity using the tunable semiconductor diode laser as a light source and combining wavelength modulation and harmonic detection technology. This system can invert the second harmonic signal obtained to obtain the concentration of carbon monoxide gas (a fire characteristic gas) so as to provide an early warning of fire. We reduce the system offset noise and the background noise generated due to the laser interference by deducting the system background spectrum lines from the second harmonic signal. This can also eliminate the interference of other gas spectral lines to a large extent. We detected the concentration of the carbon monoxide gas generated in smoldering sandalwood fire and open beech wood fire with the homemade fire simulator, and tested the lowest detectable limit of system. The test results show that the lowest detectable limit can reach 5×10-6 the system can maintain stable operation for a long period of time and can automatically trigger a water mist fire extinguishing system, which can fully meet the needs of early fire warning.

Puerto Rico Seismic Network Operations During and After the Hurricane Maria: Response, Continuity of Operations, and Experiences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vanacore, E. A.; Baez-Sanchez, G.; Huerfano, V.; Lopez, A. M.; Lugo, J.

2017-12-01

The Puerto Rico Seismic Network (PRSN) is an integral part of earthquake and tsunami monitoring in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The PRSN conducts scientific research as part of the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, conducts the earthquake monitoring for the region, runs extensive earthquake and tsunami education and outreach programs, and acts as a Tsunami Warning Focal Point Alternate for Puerto Rico. During and in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Maria, the PRSN duties and responsibilities evolved from a seismic network to a major information and communications center for the western side of Puerto Rico. Hurricane Maria effectively destroyed most communications on island, critically between the eastern side of the island where Puerto Rico's Emergency Management's (PREMA) main office and the National Weather Service (NWS) is based and the western side of the island. Additionally, many local emergency management agencies on the western side of the island lost a satellite based emergency management information system called EMWIN which provides critical tsunami and weather information. PRSN's EMWIN system remained functional and consequently via this system and radio communications PRSN became the only information source for NWS warnings and bulletins, tsunami alerts, and earthquake information for western Puerto Rico. Additionally, given the functional radio and geographic location of the PRSN, the network became a critical communications relay for local emergency management. Here we will present the PRSN response in relation to Hurricane Maria including the activation of the PRSN devolution plan, adoption of duties, experiences and lessons learned for continuity of operations and adoption of responsibilities during future catastrophic events.

A triangular climate-based decision model to forecast crop anomalies in Kenya

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guimarães Nobre, G.; Davenport, F.; Veldkamp, T.; Jongman, B.; Funk, C. C.; Husak, G. J.; Ward, P.; Aerts, J.

2017-12-01

By the end of 2017, the world is expected to experience unprecedented demands for food assistance where, across 45 countries, some 81 million people will face a food security crisis. Prolonged droughts in Eastern Africa are playing a major role in these crises. To mitigate famine risk and save lives, government bodies and international donor organisations are increasingly building up efforts to resolve conflicts and secure humanitarian relief. Disaster-relief and financing organizations traditionally focus on emergency response, providing aid after an extreme drought event, instead of taking actions in advance based on early warning. One of the reasons for this approach is that the seasonal risk information provided by early warning systems is often considered highly uncertain. Overcoming the reluctance to act based on early warnings greatly relies on understanding the risk of acting in vain, and assessing the cost-effectiveness of early actions. This research develops a triangular climate-based decision model for multiple seasonal time-scales to forecast strong anomalies in crop yield shortages in Kenya using Casual Discovery Algorithms and Fast and Frugal Decision Trees. This Triangular decision model (1) estimates the causality and strength of the relationship between crop yields and hydro climatological predictors (extracted from the Famine Early Warning Systems Network's data archive) during the crop growing season; (2) provides probabilistic forecasts of crop yield shortages in multiple time scales before the harvesting season; and (3) evaluates the cost-effectiveness of different financial mechanisms to respond to early warning indicators of crop yield shortages obtained from the model. Furthermore, we reflect on how such a model complements and advances the current state-of-art FEWS Net system, and examine its potential application to improve the management of agricultural risks in Kenya.

Warnings and Human Response in the Oroville Dam Crisis, February 2017

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sorensen, J. H.; Mileti, D. S.; Needham, J. T.

2017-12-01

On February 7, 2017, erosion was detected in the primary spillway for Oroville Dam in northern California, causing an elevated concern for the safety of downstream communities. The situation seemed stable until heavy rains on February 11 resulted in the flow of water over the emergency spillway. On February 12, erosion below the emergency spillway was observed. At 4:21 PM on February 12, the Butte County Sheriff issued an evacuation order for "low levels of Oroville and downstream areas". Counties downstream followed with evacuation warnings. The purpose of this paper is to present preliminary results of research, conducted for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, on the Oroville event. This investigation is part of a research program designed to collect and analyze data on: 1) The timing of the decisions to order public evacuation warnings including the flow of information between engineers and geologist monitoring the hazard and local officials. 2) The method and timing of the dissemination of those warnings including the diffusion or warning by various communication channels. 3) The interpretation and response of the public to those warnings, including the timing of protective action decisions. The findings from these studies will be incorporated into risk assessment models used in assessing the impacts of dam and levee failures on a national basis.

Dual-Polarization Observations of Precipitation: State of the Art in Operational and Research Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandra, C. V.; Moisseev, D. N.; Baldini, L.; Bechini, R.; Cremonini, R.; Wolff, D. B.; Petersen, W. A.; Junyent, F.; Chen, H.; Beauchamp, R.

2016-12-01

Dual-polarization weather radars have been widely used for rainfall measurement applications and studies of the microphysical characteristics of precipitation. Ground-based, dual-polarization radar systems form the cornerstones of national severe weather warning and forecasting infrastructure in many developed countries. As a result of the improved performance of dual-polarization radars for these applications, large scale dual-polarization upgrades are being planned for India and China. In addition to national forecast and warning operations, dual-polarization radars have also been used for satellite ground validation activities. The operational Dual-Polarization radars in the US are mostly S band systems whereas in Europe are mostly C band systems. In addition a third class of systems is emerging in urban regions where networks of X band systems are being deployed operationally. There are successful networks planned or already deployed in big cities such as Dallas Fort Worth, Tokyo or Beijing. These X band networks are developing their own operational domain. In summary a large infrastructure in terms of user specified products and dual use of operational research applications are also emerging in these systems. This paper will discuss some of the innovative uses of the operational dual-polarization radar networks for research purposes, with references to calibration, hydrometeor classification and quantitative precipitation estimation. Additional application to the study of precipitation processes will also be discussed.

Young Adult Smokers' and Prior-Smokers' Evaluations of Novel Tobacco Warning Images.

PubMed

Healey, Benjamin; Hoek, Janet

2016-01-01

On-pack warning labels represent a very cost-effective means of communicating with smokers, who potentially see warnings each time they retrieve a cigarette. Warning labels have traditionally depicted graphic health consequences of smoking but emerging evidence suggests the distal consequences shown may prove less effective in prompting cessation among young adults. We used a novel micro-survey approach to compare novel and traditional warnings, and provide an empirical foundation for a larger study. We recruited 4649 male and 2993 female participants aged 18-34 from Google Consumer Survey's Australian panel of Android mobile phone users. A screening question resulted in a sample comprising 3183 daily, non-daily, and former smokers. Twenty images corresponding to social and health risks, tobacco industry denormalization, and secondhand smoke (SHS) were tested in paired comparisons where respondents selected the image they thought most likely to prompt cessation. Irrespective of smoking status, respondents rated messages featuring harm to children as most effective and industry denormalization messages and adult SHS warnings as least effective. Within smoker groups, daily smokers rated social concerns more highly; non-daily smokers were more responsive to SHS messages, and former smokers saw intimacy and cosmetic effects warnings as more effective than other groups. While preliminary, the findings support emerging evidence that more diverse warning images may be required to promote cessation among all smoker sub-groups. Warnings depicting harm to vulnerable others appear to hold high potential and merit further investigation. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Accuracy of a Rationally Derived Method for Identifying Treatment Failure in Children and Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bishop, Matthew J.; Bybee, Taige S.; Lambert, Michael J.; Burlingame, Gary M.; Wells, M. Gawain; Poppleton, Landon E.

2005-01-01

Psychotherapy outcome can be enhanced by early identification of potential treatment failures before they leave treatment. In adults, compelling data are emerging that provide evidence that an early warning system that identifies potential treatment failures can be developed and applied to enhance outcome. The present study reports an analysis of…

49 CFR 234.225 - Activation of warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Activation of warning system. 234.225 Section 234....225 Activation of warning system. A highway-rail grade crossing warning system shall be maintained to activate in accordance with the design of the warning system, but in no event shall it provide less than 20...

49 CFR 234.225 - Activation of warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Activation of warning system. 234.225 Section 234....225 Activation of warning system. A highway-rail grade crossing warning system shall be maintained to activate in accordance with the design of the warning system, but in no event shall it provide less than 20...

49 CFR 234.225 - Activation of warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Activation of warning system. 234.225 Section 234....225 Activation of warning system. A highway-rail grade crossing warning system shall be maintained to activate in accordance with the design of the warning system, but in no event shall it provide less than 20...

Assessing reverse 911®: a case study of the 2007 San Diego wildfires.

PubMed

Neaves, Tonya T; Mann, Stacey C; Myers, Laura B; Cosby, Arthur G

2014-01-01

In October 2007, 250,000 residents of San Diego County were forced to evacuate as wildfires burned 62 miles(2) in 24 hours. In 2005, the Sheriff's Department invested in Reverse 911® to contact residents upon emergencies. The system was used during this wildfire, and by the following midday, had made 394,915 calls. Shortly thereafter, 1,210 residents were surveyed to investigate the effectiveness of this technology. Findings reveal that 42 percent of respondents received their first warning from a Reverse 911® call while an additional 7 percent received the same call, but not as their first warning, as compared to all other methods used.

Development of an Impact-Oriented Quantitative Coastal Inundation forecasting and early warning system with social and economic assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fakhruddin, S. H. M.; Babel, Mukand S.; Kawasaki, Akiyuki

2014-05-01

Coastal inundations are an increasing threat to the lives and livelihoods of people living in low-lying, highly-populated coastal areas. According to a World Bank Report in 2005, at least 2.6 million people may have drowned due to coastal inundation, particularly caused by storm surges, over the last 200 years. Forecasting and prediction of natural events, such as tropical and extra-tropical cyclones, inland flooding, and severe winter weather, provide critical guidance to emergency managers and decision-makers from the local to the national level, with the goal of minimizing both human and economic losses. This guidance is used to facilitate evacuation route planning, post-disaster response and resource deployment, and critical infrastructure protection and securing, and it must be available within a time window in which decision makers can take appropriate action. Recognizing this extreme vulnerability of coastal areas to inundation/flooding, and with a view to improve safety-related services for the community, research should strongly enhance today's forecasting, prediction and early warning capabilities in order to improve the assessment of coastal vulnerability and risks and develop adequate prevention, mitigation and preparedness measures. This paper tries to develop an impact-oriented quantitative coastal inundation forecasting and early warning system with social and economic assessment to address the challenges faced by coastal communities to enhance their safety and to support sustainable development, through the improvement of coastal inundation forecasting and warning systems.

21 CFR 201.308 - Ipecac syrup; warnings and directions for use for over-the-counter sale.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... following, in a prominent and conspicuous manner: (1) A statement conspicuously boxed and in red letters, to... Poison Control Center, or hospital emergency room immediately for advice.” (2) A warning to the effect...

21 CFR 201.308 - Ipecac syrup; warnings and directions for use for over-the-counter sale.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... following, in a prominent and conspicuous manner: (1) A statement conspicuously boxed and in red letters, to... Poison Control Center, or hospital emergency room immediately for advice.” (2) A warning to the effect...

21 CFR 201.308 - Ipecac syrup; warnings and directions for use for over-the-counter sale.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... following, in a prominent and conspicuous manner: (1) A statement conspicuously boxed and in red letters, to... Poison Control Center, or hospital emergency room immediately for advice.” (2) A warning to the effect...

21 CFR 201.308 - Ipecac syrup; warnings and directions for use for over-the-counter sale.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... following, in a prominent and conspicuous manner: (1) A statement conspicuously boxed and in red letters, to... Poison Control Center, or hospital emergency room immediately for advice.” (2) A warning to the effect...

An analysis of legal warnings after drug approval in Thailand.

PubMed

Sriphiromya, Pakawadee; Theeraroungchaisri, Anuchai

2015-02-01

Drug risk management has many tools for minimizing risk and black-boxed warnings (BBWs) are one of those tools. Some serious adverse drug reactions (ADRs) emerge only after a drug is marketed and used in a larger population. In Thailand, additional legal warnings after drug approval, in the form of black-boxed warnings, may be applied. Review of their characteristics can assist in the development of effective risk mitigation. This study was a cross sectional review of all legal warnings imposed in Thailand after drug approval (2003-2012). Any boxed warnings for biological products and revised warnings which were not related to safety were excluded. Nine legal warnings were evaluated. Seven related to drugs classes and two to individual drugs. The warnings involved four main types of predictable ADRs: drug-disease interactions, side effects, overdose and drug-drug interactions. The average time from first ADRs reported to legal warnings implementation was 12 years. The triggers were from both safety signals in Thailand and regulatory measures in other countries outside Thailand. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Building a Communication, Education, an Outreach Program for the ShakeAlert National Earthquake Early Warning Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeGroot, R. M.; Strauss, J. A.; Given, D. D.; Cochran, E. S.; Burkett, E. R.; Long, K.

2016-12-01

Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) systems can provide as much as tens of seconds of warning to people and automated systems before strong shaking arrives. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and its partners are developing an EEW system for the West Coast of the United States. To be an integral part of successful implementation, EEW engagement programs and materials must integrate with and leverage broader earthquake risk programs. New methods and products for dissemination must be multidisciplinary, cost effective, and consistent with existing hazards education efforts. Our presentation outlines how the USGS and its partners will approach this effort in the context of the EEW system through the work of a multistate and multiagency committee that participates in the design, implementation, and evaluation of a portfolio of programs and products. This committee, referred to as the ShakeAlert Joint Committee for Communication, Education, and Outreach (ShakeAlert CEO), is working to identify, develop, and cultivate partnerships with EEW stakeholders including Federal, State, academic partners, private companies, policy makers, and local organizations. Efforts include developing materials, methods for delivery, and reaching stakeholders with information on EEW, earthquake preparedness, and emergency protective actions. It is essential to develop standards to ensure information communicated via the EEW alerts is consistent across the public and private sector and achieving a common understanding of what actions users take when they receive an EEW warning. The USGS and the participating states and agencies acknowledge that the implementation of EEW is a collective effort requiring the participation of hundreds of stakeholders committed to ensuring public accessibility.

Effectiveness of forward collision warning and autonomous emergency braking systems in reducing front-to-rear crash rates.

PubMed

Cicchino, Jessica B

2017-02-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of forward collision warning (FCW) alone, a low-speed autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system operational at speeds up to 19mph that does not warn the driver prior to braking, and FCW with AEB that operates at higher speeds in reducing front-to-rear crashes and injuries. Poisson regression was used to compare rates of police-reported crash involvements per insured vehicle year in 22 U.S. states during 2010-2014 between passenger vehicle models with FCW alone or with AEB and the same models where the optional systems were not purchased, controlling for other factors affecting crash risk. Similar analyses compared rates between Volvo 2011-2012 model S60 and 2010-2012 model XC60 vehicles with a standard low-speed AEB system to those of other luxury midsize cars and SUVs, respectively, without the system. FCW alone, low-speed AEB, and FCW with AEB reduced rear-end striking crash involvement rates by 27%, 43%, and 50%, respectively. Rates of rear-end striking crash involvements with injuries were reduced by 20%, 45%, and 56%, respectively, by FCW alone, low-speed AEB, and FCW with AEB, and rates of rear-end striking crash involvements with third-party injuries were reduced by 18%, 44%, and 59%, respectively. Reductions in rear-end striking crashes with third-party injuries were marginally significant for FCW alone, and all other reductions were statistically significant. FCW alone and low-speed AEB reduced rates of being rear struck in rear-end crashes by 13% and 12%, respectively, but FCW with AEB increased rates of rear-end struck crash involvements by 20%. Almost 1 million U.S. police-reported rear-end crashes in 2014 and more than 400,000 injuries in such crashes could have been prevented if all vehicles were equipped with FCW and AEB that perform similarly as systems did for study vehicles. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Detection of Deteriorating Patients on Surgical Wards Outside the ICU by an Automated MEWS-Based Early Warning System With Paging Functionality.

PubMed

Heller, Axel R; Mees, Sören T; Lauterwald, Benjamin; Reeps, Christian; Koch, Thea; Weitz, Jürgen

2018-05-16

The establishment of early warning systems in hospitals was strongly recommended in recent guidelines to detect deteriorating patients early and direct them to adequate care. Upon reaching predefined trigger criteria, Medical Emergency Teams (MET) should be notified and directed to these patients. The present study analyses the effect of introducing an automated multiparameter early warning score (MEWS)-based early warning system with paging functionality on 2 wards hosting patients recovering from highly complex surgical interventions. The deployment of the system was accompanied by retrospective data acquisition during 12 months (intervention) using 4 routine databases: Hospital patient data management, anesthesia database, local data of the German Resuscitation Registry, and measurement logs of the deployed system (intervention period only). A retrospective 12-month data review using the same aforementioned databases before the deployment of the system served as control. Control and intervention phases were separated by a 6-month washout period for the installation of the system and for training. Data from 3827 patients could be acquired from 2 surgical wards during the two 12-month periods, 1896 patients in the control and 1931 in the intervention cohorts. Patient characteristics differed between the 2 observation phases. American Society of Anesthesiologists risk classification and duration of surgery as well as German DRG case-weight were significantly higher in the intervention period. However, the rate of cardiac arrests significantly dropped from 5.3 to 2.1 per 1000 admissions in the intervention period (P < 0.001). This observation was paralleled by a reduction of unplanned ICU admissions from 3.6% to 3.0% (P < 0.001), and an increase of notifications of critical conditions to the ward surgeon. The primary triggers for MET activation were abnormal ECG alerts, specifically asystole (n = 5), and pulseless electric activity (n = 8). In concert with a well-trained and organized MET, the early deterioration detection of patients on surgical wards outside the ICU may be improved by introducing an automated MEWS-based early warning system with paging functionality.

An Early Warning System Based on Syndromic Surveillance to Detect Potential Health Emergencies among Migrants: Results of a Two-Year Experience in Italy

PubMed Central

Napoli, Christian; Riccardo, Flavia; Declich, Silvia; Dente, Maria Grazia; Pompa, Maria Grazia; Rizzo, Caterina; Rota, Maria Cristina; Bella, Antonino

2014-01-01

Profound geopolitical changes have impacted the southern and eastern Mediterranean since 2010 and defined a context of instability that is still affecting several countries today. Insecurity combined with the reduction of border controls has led to major population movements in the region and to migration surges from affected countries to southern Europe, especially to Italy. To respond to the humanitarian emergency triggered by this migration surge, Italy implemented a syndromic surveillance system in order to rapidly detect potential public health emergencies in immigrant reception centres. This system was discontinued after two years. This paper presents the results of this experience detailing its strengths and weaknesses in order to document the applicability and usefulness of syndromic surveillance in this specific context. PMID:25140999

Preliminary benefits study for a public service communications satellite system: Task order 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

The economic and social benefits to accrue from an operational public service communications satellite system are estimated for the following applications: teleradiology, emergency medical services, teleconferencing for both civilian and defense agencies, data transfer, remote cardiac monitoring, teleconsultation, continuing education for professionals, and severe storm warning. The potential impact of improved communication on the cost and quality of services are assessed for various agencies, professions, and industries.

Development of a GIS-based integrated framework for coastal seiches monitoring and forecasting: A North Jiangsu shoal case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Rufu; Lin, Liangzhao

2017-06-01

Coastal seiches have become an increasingly important issue in coastal science and present many challenges, particularly when attempting to provide warning services. This paper presents the methodologies, techniques and integrated services adopted for the design and implementation of a Seiches Monitoring and Forecasting Integration Framework (SMAF-IF). The SMAF-IF is an integrated system with different types of sensors and numerical models and incorporates the Geographic Information System (GIS) and web techniques, which focuses on coastal seiche events detection and early warning in the North Jiangsu shoal, China. The in situ sensors perform automatic and continuous monitoring of the marine environment status and the numerical models provide the meteorological and physical oceanographic parameter estimates. A model outputs processing software was developed in C# language using ArcGIS Engine functions, which provides the capabilities of automatically generating visualization maps and warning information. Leveraging the ArcGIS Flex API and ASP.NET web services, a web based GIS framework was designed to facilitate quasi real-time data access, interactive visualization and analysis, and provision of early warning services for end users. The integrated framework proposed in this study enables decision-makers and the publics to quickly response to emergency coastal seiche events and allows an easy adaptation to other regional and scientific domains related to real-time monitoring and forecasting.

Stories after disaster survival: Preparing, heeding warnings, and self-reliance.

PubMed

Killian, Timothy S; Moon, Zola K; McNeill, Charleen C; Person-Michener, Joanna; Garrison, M E Betsy

The purpose of the study was to examine the content of stories told by people personally impacted by disasters. Semistructured, qualitative interviews. Northwest part of a mid-south state. Fourteen disaster survivors who were recruited through their attendance at an emergency preparedness-related fair. Interview schedule based on previous research using the family resilience framework. Three themes emerged: prior emergency preparation, heeding warnings of impending disaster, and rural self-reliance. Participants had made prior emergency preparedness plans, but their personal experiences led to them adjusting their plans, or making more relevant plans for future disasters. Participants expressed the importance of sharing their experiences with family and community members, expressing hope that others would learn, vicariously rather than first-hand, from their experiences.

U.S. Geological Survey National Strong-Motion Project strategic plan, 2017–22

USGS Publications Warehouse

Aagaard, Brad T.; Celebi, Mehmet; Gee, Lind; Graves, Robert; Jaiswal, Kishor; Kalkan, Erol; Knudsen, Keith L.; Luco, Nicolas; Smith, James; Steidl, Jamison; Stephens, Christopher D.

2017-12-11

The mission of the National Strong-Motion Project is to provide measurements of how the ground and built environment behave during earthquake shaking to the earthquake engineering community, the scientific community, emergency managers, public agencies, industry, media, and other users for the following purposes: Improving engineering evaluations and design methods for facilities and systems;Providing timely information for earthquake early warning, damage assessment, and emergency response action; andContributing to a greater understanding of the mechanics of earthquake rupture, groundmotion characteristics, and earthquake effects.

Developments of the European Flood Awareness System (EFAS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thiemig, Vera; Olav Skøien, Jon; Salamon, Peter; Pappenberger, Florian; Wetterhall, Fredrik; Holst, Bo; Asp, Sara-Sophia; Garcia Padilla, Mercedes; Garcia, Rafael J.; Schweim, Christoph; Ziese, Markus

2017-04-01

EFAS (http://www.efas.eu) is an operational system for flood forecasting and early warning for the entire Europe, which is fully operational as part of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service since 2012. The prime aim of EFAS is to gain time for preparedness measures before major flood events - particularly in trans-national river basins - strike. This is achieved by providing complementary, added value information to the national and regional services holding the mandate for flood warning as well as to the ERCC (European Response and Coordination Centre). Using a coherent model for all of Europe forced with a range of deterministic and ensemble weather forecasts, the system can give a probabilistic flood forecast for a medium range lead time (up to 10 days) independent of country borders. The system is under continuous development, and we will present the basic set up, some prominent examples of recent and ongoing developments (such as the rapid impact assessment, seasonal outlook and the extended domain) and the future challenges.

False alarms and missed events: the impact and origins of perceived inaccuracy in tornado warning systems.

PubMed

Ripberger, Joseph T; Silva, Carol L; Jenkins-Smith, Hank C; Carlson, Deven E; James, Mark; Herron, Kerry G

2015-01-01

Theory and conventional wisdom suggest that errors undermine the credibility of tornado warning systems and thus decrease the probability that individuals will comply (i.e., engage in protective action) when future warnings are issued. Unfortunately, empirical research on the influence of warning system accuracy on public responses to tornado warnings is incomplete and inconclusive. This study adds to existing research by analyzing two sets of relationships. First, we assess the relationship between perceptions of accuracy, credibility, and warning response. Using data collected via a large regional survey, we find that trust in the National Weather Service (NWS; the agency responsible for issuing tornado warnings) increases the likelihood that an individual will opt for protective action when responding to a hypothetical warning. More importantly, we find that subjective perceptions of warning system accuracy are, as theory suggests, systematically related to trust in the NWS and (by extension) stated responses to future warnings. The second half of the study matches survey data against NWS warning and event archives to investigate a critical follow-up question--Why do some people perceive that their warning system is accurate, whereas others perceive that their system is error prone? We find that subjective perceptions are--in part-a function of objective experience, knowledge, and demographic characteristics. When considered in tandem, these findings support the proposition that errors influence perceptions about the accuracy of warning systems, which in turn impact the credibility that people assign to information provided by systems and, ultimately, public decisions about how to respond when warnings are issued. © 2014 Society for Risk Analysis.

76 FR 24875 - Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Submitted for Review and Approval to the Office...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-03

...: 3060-1113. Title: Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS). Form No.: N/A. Type of Review: Revision of a..., Alert and Response Network (``WARN'') Act, including inter alia, a requirement that within 30 days of... the Commission indicating whether or not it intends to transmit emergency alerts as part of the...

Research on public participant urban infrastructure safety monitoring system using smartphone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Xuefeng; Wang, Niannian; Ou, Jinping; Yu, Yan; Li, Mingchu

2017-04-01

Currently more and more people concerned about the safety of major public security. Public participant urban infrastructure safety monitoring and investigation has become a trend in the era of big data. In this paper, public participant urban infrastructure safety protection system based on smart phones is proposed. The system makes it possible to public participant disaster data collection, monitoring and emergency evaluation in the field of disaster prevention and mitigation. Function of the system is to monitor the structural acceleration, angle and other vibration information, and extract structural deformation and implement disaster emergency communications based on smartphone without network. The monitoring data is uploaded to the website to create urban safety information database. Then the system supports big data analysis processing, the structure safety assessment and city safety early warning.

Small-scale (flash) flood early warning in the light of operational requirements: opportunities and limits with regard to user demands, driving data, and hydrologic modeling techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Philipp, Andy; Kerl, Florian; Büttner, Uwe; Metzkes, Christine; Singer, Thomas; Wagner, Michael; Schütze, Niels

2016-05-01

In recent years, the Free State of Saxony (Eastern Germany) was repeatedly hit by both extensive riverine flooding, as well as flash flood events, emerging foremost from convective heavy rainfall. Especially after a couple of small-scale, yet disastrous events in 2010, preconditions, drivers, and methods for deriving flash flood related early warning products are investigated. This is to clarify the feasibility and the limits of envisaged early warning procedures for small catchments, hit by flashy heavy rain events. Early warning about potentially flash flood prone situations (i.e., with a suitable lead time with regard to required reaction-time needs of the stakeholders involved in flood risk management) needs to take into account not only hydrological, but also meteorological, as well as communication issues. Therefore, we propose a threefold methodology to identify potential benefits and limitations in a real-world warning/reaction context. First, the user demands (with respect to desired/required warning products, preparation times, etc.) are investigated. Second, focusing on small catchments of some hundred square kilometers, two quantitative precipitation forecasts are verified. Third, considering the user needs, as well as the input parameter uncertainty (i.e., foremost emerging from an uncertain QPF), a feasible, yet robust hydrological modeling approach is proposed on the basis of pilot studies, employing deterministic, data-driven, and simple scoring methods.

Crash Warning Interface Metrics: Final Report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-08-01

The Crash Warning Interface Metrics (CWIM) project addressed issues of the driver-vehicle interface (DVI) for Advanced Crash Warning Systems (ACWS). The focus was on identifying the effects of certain warning system features (e.g., warning modality) ...

Effectiveness of safety belt warning and interlock systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1973-04-01

Rental cars in Fayetteville, N.C., were equipped with four seat belt and warning systems: (Phase I) detachable shoulder and lap belt, no warning system; (Phase II) detachable shoulder and lap belt, warning system (January 1, 1972 standard); (Phase II...

A Prototype Flood Early Warning SensorWeb System for Namibia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sohlberg, R. A.; Mandl, D.; Frye, S. W.; Cappelaere, P. G.; Szarzynski, J.; Policelli, F.; van Langenhove, G.

2010-12-01

During the past two years, there have been extensive floods in the country of Namibia, Africa which have affected up to a quarter of the population. Via a collaboration between a group funded by the Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) at NASA that has been performing various SensorWeb prototyping activities for disasters, the Department of Hydrology in Namibia and the United Nations Space-based Information for Disaster and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) , experiments were conducted on how to apply various satellite resources integrated into a SensorWeb architecture along with in-situ sensors such as river gauges and rain gauges into a flood early warning system. The SensorWeb includes a global flood model and a higher resolution basin specific flood model. Furthermore, flood extent and status is monitored by optical and radar types of satellites and integrated via some automation. We have taken a practical approach to find out how to create a working system by selectively using the components that provide good results. The vision for the future is to combine this with the country side dwelling unit data base to create risk maps that provide specific warnings to houses within high risk areas based on near term predictions. This presentation will show some of the highlights of the effort thus far plus our future plans.

PRESSCA: A regional operative Early Warning System for landslides risk scenario assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ponziani, Francesco; Stelluti, Marco; Berni, Nicola; Brocca, Luca; Moramarco, Tommaso

2013-04-01

The Italian national alert system for the hydraulic and hydrogeological risk is ensured by the National Civil Protection Department, through the "Functional Centres" Network, together with scientific/technical Support Centres, named "Competence Centres". The role of the Functional Centres is to alert regional/national civil protection network, to manage the prediction and the monitoring phases, thus ensuring the flow of data for the management of the emergency. The Umbria regional alerting procedure is based on three increasing warning levels of criticality for 6 sub-areas (~1200 km²). Specifically, for each duration (from 1 to 48 hours), three criticality levels are assigned to the rainfall values corresponding to a recurrence interval of 2, 5, and 10 years. In order to improve confidence on the daily work for hydrogeological risk assessment and management, a simple and operational early warning system for the prediction of shallow landslide triggering on regional scale was implemented. The system is primarily based on rainfall thresholds, which represent the main element of evaluation for the early-warning procedures of the Italian Civil Protection system. Following previous studies highlighting that soil moisture conditions play a key role on landslide triggering, a continuous physically-based soil water balance model was implemented for the estimation of soil moisture conditions over the whole regional territory. In fact, a decreasing trend between the cumulated rainfall values over 24, 36 and 48 hours and the soil moisture conditions prior to past landslide events was observed. This trend provides an easy-to-use tool to dynamically adjust the operational rainfall thresholds with the soil moisture conditions simulated by the soil water balance model prior to rainfall events. The application of this procedure allowed decreasing the uncertainties tied to the application of the rainfall thresholds only. The system is actually operational in real-time and it was recently coupled with quantitative rainfall and temperature forecasts (given by the COSMO ME local scale models for Umbria) to extend the prediction up to 72 hours forecast. The main output is constituted by four spatially distributed early warning indicators (normal, caution, warning, alarm), in compliance with national and regional law, based on the comparison between the observed (forecasted) rainfall and the dynamic thresholds. The early warning indicators, calculated over the whole regional territory, are combined with susceptibility and vulnerability layers using a WEB-GIS platform, in order to build a near real time risk scenario. The main outcome of the system is a spatially distributed landslide hazard map with the highlight of areas where local risk situations may arise due to landslides induced by the interaction between meteorological forcing and the presence of vulnerability elements. The System is inclusive of specific sections dedicated to areas with specific risks (as debris flows prone areas), with specific thresholds. The main purpose of this study is firstly to describe the operational early warning system. Then, the integration of near real-time soil moisture data obtained through the satellite sensor ASCAT (Advanced SCATterometer) within the system is shown. This could allow enhancing the reliability of the modelled soil moisture data over the regional territory. The recent rainfall event of 11-14 November 2012 is used as case study. Reported triggered landslides are studied and used in order to check/refine the early warning system.

Electrical Distribution System (EDS) and Caution and Warning System (CWS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcclung, T.

1975-01-01

An astronaut caution and warning system is described which monitors various life support system parameters and detects out-of-range parameter conditions. The warning system generates a warning tone and displays the malfunction condition to the astronaut along with the proper corrective procedures required.

47 CFR 87.483 - Audio visual warning systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Audio visual warning systems. 87.483 Section 87... AVIATION SERVICES Stations in the Radiodetermination Service § 87.483 Audio visual warning systems. An audio visual warning system (AVWS) is a radar-based obstacle avoidance system. AVWS activates...

Early warnings: health care preparedness.

PubMed

Rebmann, Terri

2005-11-01

As nurses, we represent the backbone of the health care system. It is essential that we have a core understanding of infectious disease emergencies and begin to use the strengths that characterize nursing. These strengths include the ability to evaluate situations and use evidence on which to base our actions. Early identification of an infectious disease emergency is one example of using nursing skills to strengthen emergency preparedness. During an infectious disease emergency, nurses certainly will bear the burden of patient management. Because of this, the need for infectious disease emergency preparedness has become a national priority and a moral imperative for all nurses. One topic necessary for ED and OH nurses' preparedness has been discussed in this article, but nurses must take the initiative to learn more about disaster preparedness and incorporate these skills into everyday practice.

Studying the response of drivers against different collision warning systems: a review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muzammel, M.; Yusoff, M. Zuki; Malik, A. Saeed; Mohamad Saad, M. Naufal; Meriaudeau, F.

2017-03-01

The number of vehicle accidents is rapidly increasing and causing significant economic losses in many countries. According to the World Health Organization, road accidents will become the fifth major cause of death by the year 2030. To minimize these accidents different types of collision warning systems have been proposed for motor vehicle drivers. These systems can early detect and warn the drivers about the potential danger, up to a certain accuracy. Many researchers study the effectiveness of these systems by using different methods, including Electroencephalography (EEG). From the literature review, it has been observed that, these systems increase the drivers' response and can help to minimize the accidents that may occur due to drivers unconsciousness. For these collision warning systems, tactile early warnings are found more effective as compared to the auditory and visual early warnings. This review also highlights the areas, where further research can be performed to fully analyze the collision warning system. For example, some contradictions are found among researchers, about these systems' performance for drivers within different age groups. Similarly, most of the EEG studies focus on the front collision warning systems and only give beep sound to alert the drivers. Therefore, EEG study can be performed for the rear end collision warning systems, against proper auditory warning messages which indicate the types of hazards. This EEG study will help to design more friendly collision warning system and may save many lives.

Earthquake Early Warning and Public Policy: Opportunities and Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goltz, J. D.; Bourque, L.; Tierney, K.; Riopelle, D.; Shoaf, K.; Seligson, H.; Flores, P.

2003-12-01

Development of an earthquake early warning capability and pilot project were objectives of TriNet, a 5-year (1997-2001) FEMA-funded project to develop a state-of-the-art digital seismic network in southern California. In parallel with research to assemble a protocol for rapid analysis of earthquake data and transmission of a signal by TriNet scientists and engineers, the public policy, communication and educational issues inherent in implementation of an earthquake early warning system were addressed by TriNet's outreach component. These studies included: 1) a survey that identified potential users of an earthquake early warning system and how an earthquake early warning might be used in responding to an event, 2) a review of warning systems and communication issues associated with other natural hazards and how lessons learned might be applied to an alerting system for earthquakes, 3) an analysis of organization, management and public policy issues that must be addressed if a broad-based warning system is to be developed and 4) a plan to provide earthquake early warnings to a small number of organizations in southern California as an experimental prototype. These studies provided needed insights into the social and cultural environment in which this new technology will be introduced, an environment with opportunities to enhance our response capabilities but also an environment with significant barriers to overcome to achieve a system that can be sustained and supported. In this presentation we will address the main public policy issues that were subjects of analysis in these studies. They include a discussion of the possible division of functions among organizations likely to be the principle partners in the management of an earthquake early warning system. Drawing on lessons learned from warning systems for other hazards, we will review the potential impacts of false alarms and missed events on warning system credibility, the acceptability of fully automated warning systems and equity issues associated with possible differential access to warnings. Finally, we will review the status of legal authorities and liabilities faced by organizations that assume various warning system roles and possible approaches to setting up a pilot project to introduce early warning. Our presentation will suggest that introducing an early warning system requires multi-disciplinary and multi-agency cooperation and thoughtful discussion among organizations likely to be providers and participants in an early warning system. Recalling our experience with earthquake prediction, we will look at early warning as a promising but unproven technology and recommend moving forward with caution and patience.

Assessment of a severe-weather warning system and disaster preparedness, Calhoun County, Alabama, 1994.

PubMed Central

Liu, S; Quenemoen, L E; Malilay, J; Noji, E; Sinks, T; Mendlein, J

1996-01-01

Tornado preparedness warning system effectiveness, and shelter-seeking behavior were examined in two Alabama areas after tornado warnings. In the area without sirens, only 28.9% of 194 respondents heard a tornado warning of these, 73.2% first received the warning from radios or television. In the area with sirens, 88.1% of 193 respondents heard a warning, and 61.8% first received the warning from a siren. Knowledge of warnings, access to shelter, and education were key predictors for seeking shelter. Our findings indicate that installing sirens, providing access to shelter, and teaching appropriate responses to warnings are important elements of an effective disaster prevention system. PMID:8561251

[Tourism ecological security early warning of Zhangjiajie, China based on the improved TOPSIS method and the grey GM (1,1)model].

PubMed

Xu, Mei; Liu, Chun la; Li, Dan; Zhong, Xiao Lin

2017-11-01

Tourism ecological security early warning is of great significance both to the coordination of ecological environment protection and tourism industry rapid development in tourism destination, and the sustainable and healthy development of regional social and economy. Firstly, based on the DPSIR model, the tourism ecological security early warning index system of Zhangjiajie was constructed from 5 aspects, which were driving force, pressure, state, impact and response. Then, by using the improved TOPSIS method, the tourism ecological security situation of Zhangjiajie from 2001 to 2014 was analyzed. Lastly, by using the grey GM (1,1) model, the tourism ecological security evolution trend of 2015-2020 was predicted. The results indicated that, on the whole, the close degree of Zhangjiajie's tourism ecological security showed a slightly upward trend during 2001-2014, the warning degree was the moderate warning. In terms of each subsystem, warning degree of the driving force system and the pressure system of Zhangjiajie's tourism ecological secu-rity were on the rise, which evolved from light warning to heavy warning; warning degree of the state system and the impact system had not changed so much, and had been in the moderate warning; warning degree of the response system was on the decline, which changed from huge warning to no warning during 2001-2014. According to the current development trend, the close degree of Zhangjiajie's tourism ecological security would rise further in 2015-2020, and the warning degree would turn from moderate warning into light warning, but the task of coordinating the relationship between tourism development and ecological construction and environmental protection would be still arduous.

Early warnings, weak signals and learning from healthcare disasters.

PubMed

Macrae, Carl

2014-06-01

In the wake of healthcare disasters, such as the appalling failures of care uncovered in Mid Staffordshire, inquiries and investigations often point to a litany of early warnings and weak signals that were missed, misunderstood or discounted by the professionals and organisations charged with monitoring the safety and quality of care. Some of the most urgent challenges facing those responsible for improving and regulating patient safety are therefore how to identify, interpret, integrate and act on the early warnings and weak signals of emerging risks-before those risks contribute to a disastrous failure of care. These challenges are fundamentally organisational and cultural: they relate to what information is routinely noticed, communicated and attended to within and between healthcare organisations-and, most critically, what is assumed and ignored. Analysing these organisational and cultural challenges suggests three practical ways that healthcare organisations and their regulators can improve safety and address emerging risks. First, engage in practices that actively produce and amplify fleeting signs of ignorance. Second, work to continually define and update a set of specific fears of failure. And third, routinely uncover and publicly circulate knowledge on the sources of systemic risks to patient safety and the improvements required to address them. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

49 CFR 234.211 - Security of warning system apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Security of warning system apparatus. 234.211 Section 234.211 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD....211 Security of warning system apparatus. Highway-rail grade crossing warning system apparatus shall...

49 CFR 234.211 - Security of warning system apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Security of warning system apparatus. 234.211 Section 234.211 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD....211 Security of warning system apparatus. Highway-rail grade crossing warning system apparatus shall...

49 CFR 234.211 - Security of warning system apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Security of warning system apparatus. 234.211 Section 234.211 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD....211 Security of warning system apparatus. Highway-rail grade crossing warning system apparatus shall...

49 CFR 234.211 - Security of warning system apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Security of warning system apparatus. 234.211... Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Maintenance Standards § 234.211 Security of warning system apparatus. Highway-rail grade crossing warning system apparatus shall be secured against unauthorized entry. ...

49 CFR 234.211 - Security of warning system apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Security of warning system apparatus. 234.211... Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Maintenance Standards § 234.211 Security of warning system apparatus. Highway-rail grade crossing warning system apparatus shall be secured against unauthorized entry. ...

Real-Time Surveillance of Infectious Diseases: Taiwan's Experience.

PubMed

Jian, Shu-Wan; Chen, Chiu-Mei; Lee, Cheng-Yi; Liu, Ding-Ping

Integration of multiple surveillance systems advances early warning and supports better decision making during infectious disease events. Taiwan has a comprehensive network of laboratory, epidemiologic, and early warning surveillance systems with nationwide representation. Hospitals and clinical laboratories have deployed automatic reporting mechanisms since 2014 and have effectively improved timeliness of infectious disease and laboratory data reporting. In June 2016, the capacity of real-time surveillance in Taiwan was externally assessed and was found to have a demonstrated and sustainable capability. We describe Taiwan's disease surveillance system and use surveillance efforts for influenza and Zika virus as examples of surveillance capability. Timely and integrated influenza information showed a higher level and extended pattern of influenza activity during the 2015-16 season, which ensured prompt information dissemination and the coordination of response operations. Taiwan also has well-developed disease detection systems and was the first country to report imported cases of Zika virus from Miami Beach and Singapore. This illustrates a high level of awareness and willingness among health workers to report emerging infectious diseases, and highlights the robust and sensitive nature of Taiwan's surveillance system. These 2 examples demonstrate the flexibility of the surveillance systems in Taiwan to adapt to emerging infectious diseases and major communicable diseases. Through participation in the GHSA, Taiwan can more actively collaborate with national counterparts and use its expertise to strengthen global and regional surveillance capacity in the Asia Pacific and in Southeast Asia, in order to advance a world safe and secure from infectious disease.

Real-Time Surveillance of Infectious Diseases: Taiwan's Experience

PubMed Central

Jian, Shu-Wan; Chen, Chiu-Mei; Lee, Cheng-Yi

2017-01-01

Integration of multiple surveillance systems advances early warning and supports better decision making during infectious disease events. Taiwan has a comprehensive network of laboratory, epidemiologic, and early warning surveillance systems with nationwide representation. Hospitals and clinical laboratories have deployed automatic reporting mechanisms since 2014 and have effectively improved timeliness of infectious disease and laboratory data reporting. In June 2016, the capacity of real-time surveillance in Taiwan was externally assessed and was found to have a demonstrated and sustainable capability. We describe Taiwan's disease surveillance system and use surveillance efforts for influenza and Zika virus as examples of surveillance capability. Timely and integrated influenza information showed a higher level and extended pattern of influenza activity during the 2015-16 season, which ensured prompt information dissemination and the coordination of response operations. Taiwan also has well-developed disease detection systems and was the first country to report imported cases of Zika virus from Miami Beach and Singapore. This illustrates a high level of awareness and willingness among health workers to report emerging infectious diseases, and highlights the robust and sensitive nature of Taiwan's surveillance system. These 2 examples demonstrate the flexibility of the surveillance systems in Taiwan to adapt to emerging infectious diseases and major communicable diseases. Through participation in the GHSA, Taiwan can more actively collaborate with national counterparts and use its expertise to strengthen global and regional surveillance capacity in the Asia Pacific and in Southeast Asia, in order to advance a world safe and secure from infectious disease. PMID:28418738

Meteorological tsunamis along the U.S. coastline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vilibic, I.; Monserrat, S.; Amores, A.; Dadic, V.; Fine, I.; Horvath, K.; Ivankovic, D.; Marcos, M.; Mihanovic, H.; Pasquet, S.; Rabinovich, A. B.; Sepic, J.; Strelec Mahovic, N.; Whitmore, P.

2012-04-01

Meteotsunamis, or meteorological tsunamis, are atmospherically induced ocean waves in the tsunami frequency band that are found to affect coasts in a destructive way in a number of places in the World Ocean, including the U.S. coastline. The Boothbay Harbor, Maine, in October 2008 and Daytona Beach, Florida, in July 1992 were hit by several meters high waves appearing from "nowhere", and a preliminary assessment pointed to the atmosphere as a possible source for the events. As a need for in-depth analyses and proper qualification of these and other events emerged, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) decided to fund the research, currently carried out within the TMEWS project (Towards a MEteotsunami Warning System along the U.S. coastline). The project structure, planned research activities and first results will be presented here. The first objective of the project is creation of a list of potential meteotsunami events, from catalogues, news and high-resolution sea level data, and their proper assessment with regards to the source, generation and dynamics. The assessment will be based on the research of the various types of ocean (tide gauges, buoys), atmospheric (ground stations, buoys, vertical soundings, reanalyses) and remote sensing (satellites) data and products, supported by the atmospheric and ocean modelling efforts. Based on the earned knowledge, the basis for a meteotsunami warning system, i.e. observational systems and communication needs for early detection of a meteotsunami, will be defined. Finally, meteotsunami warning protocols, procedures and decision matrix will be developed, and tested on historical meteotsunami events. These deliverables are expected also to boost meteotsunami research in other parts of the World Ocean, and to contribute to the creation of an efficient meteotsunami warning systems in different regions of interest, such as Mediterranean Sea, western Japan, Western Australia or other.

System of Earthquakes Alert (SEA) on the territory of Bulgaria developed as a result of DACEA project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solakov, Dimcho; Dimitrova, Liliya; Simeonova, Stela; Aleksandrova, Irena; Stoyanov, Stoyan; Metodiev, Metodi

2013-04-01

The prevention of the natural disasters and the performing management of reactions to crisis are common problems for many countries. The Romania-Bulgaria border region is significantly affected by earthquakes occurred in both territories: on the one-hand, Vrancea seismic source, with intermediate-depth events and on the other hand, crustal seismicity recorded in the northern part of Bulgaria (Shabla, Dulovo, Gorna Orjahovitza). The general objective of DACEA (2010-2013) project is to develop an system of earthquake alert in order to prevent the natural disasters caused by earthquakes in the cross-border area, taking into account the nuclear power plants and other chemical plants located along the Danube on the territories of Romania and Bulgaria. An integrated warning system is designed and implemented in the cross-border area. A seismic detection network is put in operation in order to warn the bodies in charge with emergency situations management in case of seismic danger. The main purpose of this network is: • monitoring of the four seismogenic areas relevant for the cross-border area, in order to detect dangerous earthquakes • sending the seismic warning signals within several seconds to the local public authorities in the cross-border area On the territory of Bulgaria the seismic network belonging to SEA is consists of: • 8 seismic stations equipped with Basalt digitizer, accelerometer Epi-sensor and BB seismometer KS2000. • 8 seismic stations equipped with Basalt digitizer, accelerometer Epi-sensor, warning and visual monitoring equipment. The stations are spanned allover the North Bulgaria. The sites were thoroughly examined and the most important requirement was the low level of noise or vibrations. SEA centers were established both in Sofia (in National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography - NIGGG) and Bucharest (in National Institute of Research and Development for Earth Physics). Both centers are equipped with servers for data analyses and storage. Specialized software for elaboration of scenarios of seismic hazard is designed and implemented. The reaction of buildings, roads, bridges, land etc. to earthquakes is graphically shown on the monitor. The high risk areas are highlighted in order for the emergency units to be prepared for intervention. This software is designed on the base of a comprehensive relational data base of historical and contemporary seismicity in the cross-border region. The output shake maps and scenarios are to be used by the emergency intervention units, local public authorities and for general public awareness.

14 CFR 135.153 - Ground proximity warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Ground proximity warning system. 135.153... Equipment § 135.153 Ground proximity warning system. (a) No person may operate a turbine-powered airplane... equipped with an approved ground proximity warning system. (b) [Reserved] (c) For a system required by this...

14 CFR 135.153 - Ground proximity warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Ground proximity warning system. 135.153... Equipment § 135.153 Ground proximity warning system. (a) No person may operate a turbine-powered airplane... equipped with an approved ground proximity warning system. (b) [Reserved] (c) For a system required by this...

14 CFR 91.223 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 91..., and Certificate Requirements § 91.223 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured... seat, unless that airplane is equipped with an approved terrain awareness and warning system that as a...

14 CFR 135.154 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 135... Aircraft and Equipment § 135.154 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

49 CFR 234.257 - Warning system operation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Warning system operation. 234.257 Section 234.257..., Inspection, and Testing Inspections and Tests § 234.257 Warning system operation. (a) Each highway-rail crossing warning system shall be tested to determine that it functions as intended when it is placed in...

14 CFR 121.354 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 121... § 121.354 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after March 29, 2002. No... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

14 CFR 135.154 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 135... Aircraft and Equipment § 135.154 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

49 CFR 234.257 - Warning system operation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Warning system operation. 234.257 Section 234.257..., Inspection, and Testing Inspections and Tests § 234.257 Warning system operation. (a) Each highway-rail crossing warning system shall be tested to determine that it functions as intended when it is placed in...

14 CFR 135.154 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 135... Aircraft and Equipment § 135.154 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

14 CFR 91.223 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 91..., and Certificate Requirements § 91.223 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured... seat, unless that airplane is equipped with an approved terrain awareness and warning system that as a...

14 CFR 135.154 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 135... Aircraft and Equipment § 135.154 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

14 CFR 91.223 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 91..., and Certificate Requirements § 91.223 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured... seat, unless that airplane is equipped with an approved terrain awareness and warning system that as a...

14 CFR 91.223 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 91..., and Certificate Requirements § 91.223 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured... seat, unless that airplane is equipped with an approved terrain awareness and warning system that as a...

49 CFR 234.225 - Activation of warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Activation of warning system. 234.225 Section 234... Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Maintenance Standards § 234.225 Activation of warning system. A highway-rail grade crossing warning system shall be maintained to activate in accordance with the design of the...

14 CFR 121.354 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 121... § 121.354 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after March 29, 2002. No... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

14 CFR 121.354 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 121... § 121.354 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after March 29, 2002. No... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

14 CFR 91.223 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 91..., and Certificate Requirements § 91.223 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured... seat, unless that airplane is equipped with an approved terrain awareness and warning system that as a...

49 CFR 234.225 - Activation of warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Activation of warning system. 234.225 Section 234... Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Maintenance Standards § 234.225 Activation of warning system. A highway-rail grade crossing warning system shall be maintained to activate in accordance with the design of the...

14 CFR 121.354 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 121... § 121.354 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after March 29, 2002. No... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

14 CFR 135.154 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 135... Aircraft and Equipment § 135.154 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

14 CFR 121.354 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 121... § 121.354 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after March 29, 2002. No... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

CAUSE Resiliency (West Coast) Experiment Final Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-10-01

implemented in BCeMap and can therefore consume alerting messages direct from MASAS. This would solve the issue with the update frequency and speed of the...in production for use by the Provincial Emergency Operations Centres and brings together multiple static layers together with several dynamic data...executive order established the requirement for an “effective, reliable, integrated, flexible, and comprehensive system to alert and warn the

Exploring the Role of Social Memory of Floods for Designing Flood Early Warning Operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Girons Lopez, Marc; Di Baldassarre, Giuliano; Grabs, Thomas; Halldin, Sven; Seibert, Jan

2016-04-01

Early warning systems are an important tool for natural disaster mitigation practices, especially for flooding events. Warnings rely on near-future forecasts to provide time to take preventive actions before a flood occurs, thus reducing potential losses. However, on top of the technical capacities, successful warnings require an efficient coordination and communication among a range of different actors and stakeholders. The complexity of integrating the technical and social spheres of warning systems has, however, resulted in system designs neglecting a number of important aspects such as social awareness of floods thus leading to suboptimal results. A better understanding of the interactions and feedbacks among the different elements of early warning systems is therefore needed to improve their efficiency and therefore social resilience. When designing an early warning system two important decisions need to be made regarding (i) the hazard magnitude at and from which a warning should be issued and (ii) the degree of confidence required for issuing a warning. The first decision is usually taken based on the social vulnerability and climatic variability while the second one is related to the performance (i.e. accuracy) of the forecasting tools. Consequently, by estimating the vulnerability and the accuracy of the forecasts, these two variables can be optimized to minimize the costs and losses. Important parameters with a strong influence on the efficiency of warning systems such as social awareness are however not considered in their design. In this study we present a theoretical exploration of the impact of social awareness on the design of early warning systems. For this purpose we use a definition of social memory of flood events as a proxy for flood risk awareness and test its effect on the optimization of the warning system design variables. Understanding the impact of social awareness on warning system design is important to make more robust warnings that can better adapt to different social settings and more efficiently reduce vulnerability.

Application of Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing technologies for assessing and monitoring malaria risk.

PubMed

Ceccato, P; Connor, S J; Jeanne, I; Thomson, M C

2005-03-01

Despite over 30 years of scientific research, algorithm development and multitudes of publications relating Remote Sensing (RS) information with the spatial and temporal distribution of malaria, it is only in recent years that operational products have been adopted by malaria control decision-makers. The time is ripe for the wealth of research knowledge and products from developed countries be made available to the decision-makers in malarious regions of the globe where this information is urgently needed. This paper reviews the capability of RS to provide useful information for operational malaria early warning systems. It also reviews the requirements for monitoring the major components influencing emergence of malaria and provides examples of applications that have been made. Discussion of the issues that have impeded implementation on a global scale and how those barriers are disappearing with recent economic, technological and political developments are explored; and help pave the way for implementation of an integrated Malaria Early Warning System framework using RS technologies.

An Assessment of Capacity, Gaps and Opportunities toward Building a Global Early Warning System for Flood Disasters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Y.; Adler, R.; Huffman, G.

2007-12-01

Many governmental emergency management agencies or non-governmental organizations need real-time information on emerging disasters for preparedness and response. However, progress in warnings for hydrologic disasters has been constrained by the difficulty of measuring spatiotemporal variability of rainfall fluxes continuously over space and time, due largely to insufficient ground monitoring networks, long delay in data transmission and absence of data sharing protocols among many geopolitically trans-boundary basins. In addition, in-situ gauging stations are often washed away by the very floods they are designed to monitor, making reconstruction of gauges a common post-flood activity around the world. In reality, remote sensing precipitation estimates may be the only source of rainfall information available over much of the globe, particularly for vulnerable countries in the tropics where abundant extreme rain storms and severe flooding events repeat every year. Building on progress in remote sensing technology, researchers have improved the accuracy, coverage, and resolution of rainfall estimates by combining imagery from infrared, passive microwave, and weather radar sensors. Today, remote sensing imagery acquired and processed in real time can provide near-real-time rainfall fluxes at relatively fine spatiotemporal scales (kilometers to tens of kilometers and 30-minute to 3-hour). These new suites of rainfall products have the potential to support daily decision-making in analysis of hydrologic hazards. This talk will address several key issues, including remote sensing rainfall retrieval and data assimilation, for hydrologists to develop alternative satellite-based flood warning systems that may supplement in-situ infrastructure when conventional data sources are denied due to natural or administrative causes. This talk will also assess a module-structure global flood prediction system that has been running at real-time by integrating remote sensing forcing data with simplified hydrological models, in an effort to offer a practical solution to the challenge of building cost-effective flood warning systems for the data-spares regions of the world. The real-time outlook of hazardous floods will quickly disseminate through an open-access web-interface to many agencies and organizations for their daily decision-making, with the potential to save human life and reduce economic impacts. The interactive Web interface will also show close-up maps of the disaster risks overlaid on population or integrated with the Google-Earth visualization tool.

Windshear warning aerospatiale approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bonafe, J. L.

1988-01-01

Vugraphs and transcribed remarks of a presentation on Aerospatiale's approach to windshear warning systems are given. Information is given on low altitude wind shear probability, wind shear warning models and warning system false alarms.

The Ancona Early Warning Centre, Instrumentation and Continuous Monitoring of the Landslide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cardellini, S.

2013-12-01

The 'Grande frana di Ancona' is an deep-seated landslide reactivated in 1982 after a long period of precipitation. The landslide involves clay and silty clay layers (Pliocene-Pleistocene), fractured with different OCR parameter, alternated with thin sand levels. Overlapped sliding zones are active (maximum depth: 100-120 m, maximum depth 1982 event is 75 m bgl). All the investigations aimed at the consolidation preliminary design in 2000, but the plan concluded that a final consolidation was impossible. Ancona Administration decided then to 'live with the landslide' reducing nevertheless the risk for the people living there. In 2002 a regional law was specifically issued for the people living in the landslide, to give Ancona Administration the responsibility of creating an Early Warning System and an Emergency Plan for people. It's active a surface monitoring system based on 7 total stations and 33 geodetic GPS integrated by a subsurface in place geotechnical system based on 3 DMS multiparametric columns installed down to 95 m depth. Surface Monitoring system The combination of the different instruments: GPS, Automatic Robotic Stations and the clinometric sensors allows us to monitor in the 3D (3D, X, Y, Z) a great number of points previously identified, to keep them under supervision with different measuring technical and from different control positions. The adoption of the geodetic GPS at dual frequency assure an high quality of the GPS measures, and a greater versatility at all the system. The measuring cycle is set up on 30 minutes, but in emergency or after a long rainy period, the system can operate on every points of the dual frequency GPS net also in Real Time RTK, and with the 7 Automatic Robotic Stations. Geotechnical monitoring (DMS) The in place Geotechnical Monitoring System DMS (patents and trade mark CSG srl -Italy) was installed in February 2009. It is made by n°3 Modular Dynamic System columns positioned inside borehole 100 m depth. DMS columns have been preassembled and installed in site with DMS REELER, connecting the required number of modules, each containing one or more geotechnical-geophysical sensors and the electronic boards for data collection and transmission. Transmission system The transmitted data coming from different sensors, are collected according to the two following procedures: a) I and II Level Net: data transmission in real time through a WiFi Standard HyperLan to the Town Monitoring Centre. b) III Level Net and, DMS system, wheatear station: data transmission through periodic GSM in CSD mode. Early Warning Management Inside the Monitoring Room of the Ancona Early Warning Centre a staff of 8 people control the monitoring data, verify the data flow, cross-check carefully the SMS warnings from the surface and borehole monitoring systems, verifying and comparing the data also with the rain events and potential triggers. Personal on duty control the data also during the night and weekend 365day/y. The staff was trained specifically for the overall instrumentation allowing in this way to be ready in case of transmission, maintenance to the software and remote control unit in all wheatear conditions.

14 CFR 23.703 - Takeoff warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... takeoff. The warning must continue until— (1) The configuration is changed to allow safe takeoff, or (2... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Takeoff warning system. 23.703 Section 23... Control Systems § 23.703 Takeoff warning system. For all airplanes with a maximum weight more than 6,000...

Build an Emergency Preparedness Kit

MedlinePlus

... tire traction -Red or brightly- colored cloth -NOAA weather radio For more information on building emergency kits, ... and a flashlight with extra batteries. A NOAA weather radio warns the public of severe weather and ...

Using internet search queries for infectious disease surveillance: screening diseases for suitability.

PubMed

Milinovich, Gabriel J; Avril, Simon M R; Clements, Archie C A; Brownstein, John S; Tong, Shilu; Hu, Wenbiao

2014-12-31

Internet-based surveillance systems provide a novel approach to monitoring infectious diseases. Surveillance systems built on internet data are economically, logistically and epidemiologically appealing and have shown significant promise. The potential for these systems has increased with increased internet availability and shifts in health-related information seeking behaviour. This approach to monitoring infectious diseases has, however, only been applied to single or small groups of select diseases. This study aims to systematically investigate the potential for developing surveillance and early warning systems using internet search data, for a wide range of infectious diseases. Official notifications for 64 infectious diseases in Australia were downloaded and correlated with frequencies for 164 internet search terms for the period 2009-13 using Spearman's rank correlations. Time series cross correlations were performed to assess the potential for search terms to be used in construction of early warning systems. Notifications for 17 infectious diseases (26.6%) were found to be significantly correlated with a selected search term. The use of internet metrics as a means of surveillance has not previously been described for 12 (70.6%) of these diseases. The majority of diseases identified were vaccine-preventable, vector-borne or sexually transmissible; cross correlations, however, indicated that vector-borne and vaccine preventable diseases are best suited for development of early warning systems. The findings of this study suggest that internet-based surveillance systems have broader applicability to monitoring infectious diseases than has previously been recognised. Furthermore, internet-based surveillance systems have a potential role in forecasting emerging infectious disease events, especially for vaccine-preventable and vector-borne diseases.

Decision making technical support study for the US Army's Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Feldman, D.L.; Dobson, J.E.

1990-08-01

This report examines the adequacy of current command and control systems designed to make timely decisions that would enable sufficient warning and protective response to an accident at the Edgewood area of Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), Maryland, and at Pine Bluff Arsenal (PBA), Arkansas. Institutional procedures designed to facilitate rapid accident assessment, characterization, warning, notification, and response after the onset of an emergency and computer-assisted decision-making aids designed to provide salient information to on- and-off-post emergency responders are examined. The character of emergency decision making at APG and PBA, as well as potential needs for improvements to decision-making practices, procedures,more » and automated decision-support systems (ADSSs), are described and recommendations are offered to guide equipment acquisition and improve on- and off-post command and control relationships. We recommend that (1) a continued effort be made to integrate on- and off-post command control, and decision-making procedures to permit rapid decision making; (2) the pathways for alert and notification among on- and off-post officials be improved and that responsibilities and chain of command among off-post agencies be clarified; (3) greater attention be given to organizational and social context factors that affect the adequacy of response and the likelihood that decision-making systems will work as intended; and (4) faster improvements be made to on-post ADSSs being developed at APG and PBA, which hold considerable promise for depicting vast amounts of information. Phased development and procurement of computer-assisted decision-making tools should be undertaken to balance immediate needs against available resources and to ensure flexibility, equity among sites, and compatibility among on- and off-post systems. 112 refs., 6 tabs.« less

Development and Application of a Message Metric for NOAA NWS Tsunami Warnings and Recommended Guidelines for the NWS TsunamiReady Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gregg, C. E.; Johnston, D. M.; Ricthie, L.; Meinhold, S.; Johnson, V.; Scott, C.; Farnham, C.; Houghton, B. F.; Horan, J.; Gill, D.

2012-12-01

Improving the quality and effectiveness of tsunami warning messages and the TsunamiReady community preparedness program of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service's (NWS), Tsunami Program are two key objectives of a three year project (Award NA10NWS4670015) to help integrate social science into the NWS' Tsunami Program and improve the preparedness of member states and territories of the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP). Research was conducted in collaboration with state and local emergency managers. Based on findings from focus group meetings with a purposive sample of local, state and Federal stakeholders and emergency managers in six states (AK, WA, OR, CA, HI and NC) and two US Territories (US Virgin Islands and American Samoa), and upon review of research literature on behavioral response to warnings, we developed a warning message metric to help guide revisions to tsunami warning messages issued by the NWS' West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, Alaska and Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, Hawaii. The metric incorporates factors that predict response to warning information, which are divided into categories of Message Content, Style, Order and Formatting and Receiver Characteristics. A message is evaluated by cross-referencing the message with the meaning of metric factors and assigning a maximum score of one point per factor. Findings are then used to guide revisions of the message until the characteristics of each factor are met. From focus groups that gathered information on the usefulness and achievability of tsunami preparedness actions, we developed recommendations for revisions to the proposed draft guidelines of the TsunamiReady Improvement Program. Proposed key revisions include the incorporation of community vulnerability to distant (far-field) versus local (near-field) tsunamis as a primary determinant of mandatory actions, rather than community population. Our team continues to work with NWS personnel, including a NWS Tsunami Warning Improvement Team, and the focus group participants to finalize and pilot test prototype warning products and the draft TsunamiReady guidelines.

Analysis and design of the ultraviolet warning optical system based on interference imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wen-cong; Hu, Hui-jun; Jin, Dong-dong; Chu, Xin-bo; Shi, Yu-feng; Song, Juan; Liu, Jin-sheng; Xiao, Ting; Shao, Si-pei

2017-10-01

Ultraviolet warning technology is one of the important methods for missile warning. It provides a very effective way to detect the target for missile approaching alarm. With the development of modern technology, especially the development of information technology at high speed, the ultraviolet early warning system plays an increasingly important role. Compared to infrared warning, the ultraviolet warning has high efficiency and low false alarm rate. In the modern warfare, how to detect the threats earlier, prevent and reduce the attack of precision-guided missile has become a new challenge of missile warning technology. Because the ultraviolet warning technology has high environmental adaptability, the low false alarm rate, small volume and other advantages, in the military field applications it has been developed rapidly. For the ultraviolet warning system, the optimal working waveband is 250 nm 280 nm (Solar Blind UV) due to the strong absorption of ozone layer. According to current application demands for solar blind ultraviolet detection and warning, this paper proposes ultraviolet warning optical system based on interference imaging, which covers solar blind ultraviolet (250nm-280nm) and dual field. This structure includes a primary optical system, an ultraviolet reflector array, an ultraviolet imaging system and an ultraviolet interference imaging system. It makes use of an ultraviolet beam-splitter to achieve the separation of two optical systems. According to the detector and the corresponding application needs of two visual field of the optical system, the calculation and optical system design were completed. After the design, the MTF of the two optical system is more than 0.8@39lp/mm.A single pixel energy concentration is greater than 80%.

Progress toward an advanced condition monitoring system for reusable rocket engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maram, J.; Barkhoudarian, S.

1987-01-01

A new generation of advanced sensor technologies will allow the direct measurement of critical/degradable rocket engine components' health and the detection of degraded conditions before component deterioration affects engine performance, leading to substantial improvements in reusable engines' operation and maintenance. When combined with a computer-based engine condition-monitoring system, these sensors can furnish a continuously updated data base for the prediction of engine availability and advanced warning of emergent maintenance requirements. Attention is given to the case of a practical turbopump and combustion device diagnostic/prognostic health-monitoring system.

Integrated System of Structural Health Monitoring and Intelligent Management for a Cable-Stayed Bridge

PubMed Central

Chen, Bin; Wang, Xu; Sun, Dezhang; Xie, Xu

2014-01-01

It is essential to construct structural health monitoring systems for large important bridges. Zhijiang Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that was built recently over the Hangzhou Qiantang River (the largest river in Zhejiang Province). The length of Zhijiang Bridge is 478 m, which comprises an arched twin-tower space and a twin-cable plane structure. As an example, the present study describes the integrated system of structural health monitoring and intelligent management for Zhijiang Bridge, which comprises an information acquisition system, data management system, evaluation and decision-making system, and application service system. The monitoring components include the working environment of the bridge and various factors that affect bridge safety, such as the stress and strain of the main bridge structure, vibration, cable force, temperature, and wind speed. In addition, the integrated system includes a forecasting and decision-making module for real-time online evaluation, which provides warnings and makes decisions based on the monitoring information. From this, the monitoring information, evaluation results, maintenance decisions, and warning information can be input simultaneously into the bridge monitoring center and traffic emergency center to share the monitoring data, thereby facilitating evaluations and decision making using the system. PMID:25140342

Integrated system of structural health monitoring and intelligent management for a cable-stayed bridge.

PubMed

Chen, Bin; Wang, Xu; Sun, Dezhang; Xie, Xu

2014-01-01

It is essential to construct structural health monitoring systems for large important bridges. Zhijiang Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that was built recently over the Hangzhou Qiantang River (the largest river in Zhejiang Province). The length of Zhijiang Bridge is 478 m, which comprises an arched twin-tower space and a twin-cable plane structure. As an example, the present study describes the integrated system of structural health monitoring and intelligent management for Zhijiang Bridge, which comprises an information acquisition system, data management system, evaluation and decision-making system, and application service system. The monitoring components include the working environment of the bridge and various factors that affect bridge safety, such as the stress and strain of the main bridge structure, vibration, cable force, temperature, and wind speed. In addition, the integrated system includes a forecasting and decision-making module for real-time online evaluation, which provides warnings and makes decisions based on the monitoring information. From this, the monitoring information, evaluation results, maintenance decisions, and warning information can be input simultaneously into the bridge monitoring center and traffic emergency center to share the monitoring data, thereby facilitating evaluations and decision making using the system.

44 CFR 334.4 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Definitions. 334.4 Section 334.4 Emergency Management and Assistance FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND... specific warnings. These actions are designed to mitigate the impact of an event or crisis and reduce...

Evaluation of the National Weather Service Extreme Cold Warning Experiment in North Dakota

PubMed Central

Chiu, Cindy H.; Vagi, Sara J.; Wolkin, Amy F.; Martin, John Paul; Noe, Rebecca S.

2016-01-01

Dangerously cold weather threatens life and property. During periods of extreme cold due to wind chill, the National Weather Service (NWS) issues wind chill warnings to prompt the public to take action to mitigate risks. Wind chill warnings are based on ambient temperatures and wind speeds. Since 2010, NWS has piloted a new extreme cold warning issued for cold temperatures in wind and nonwind conditions. The North Dakota Department of Health, NWS, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collaborated in conducting household surveys in Burleigh County, North Dakota, to evaluate this new warning. The objectives of the evaluation were to assess whether residents heard the new warning and to determine if protective behaviors were prompted by the warning. This was a cross-sectional survey design using the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) methodology to select a statistically representative sample of households from Burleigh County. From 10 to 11 April 2012, 188 door-to-door household interviews were completed. The CASPER methodology uses probability sampling with weighted analysis to estimate the number and percentage of households with a specific response within Burleigh County. The majority of households reported having heard both the extreme cold and wind chill warnings, and both warnings prompted protective behaviors. These results suggest this community heard the new warning and took protective actions after hearing the warning. PMID:27239260

Codified Hashtags for Weather Warning on Twitter: an Italian Case Study

PubMed Central

Grasso, Valentina; Crisci, Alfonso

2016-01-01

Introduction: During emergencies increasing numbers of messages are shared through social media platforms becoming a primary source of information for lay people and emergency managers. For Twitter codified hashtagging is emerging as a practical way to coordinate messages during emergencies and quickly identify relevant information. This paper considers a case study on the use of codified hashtags concerning weather warning in Italy in three different regions. Methods: From November 3rd to December 2nd 2014, tweets identified by the 3 codified hashtags #allertameteoTOS, #allertameteoLIG and #allertameteoPIE were retrieved, collecting a total of 35,558 tweets published by 7361 unique tweets authors, with the aim to assess if codified hashtags could represent an effective way to align formal and informal sources of information during weather related emergencies. An auxiliary R-package was built to lead the analytics used in this study. Authors performed a manual coding of users, hashtags and content of messages of all Twitter data considered. Results: Content analysis showed that tweets were overwhelmingly related to situational updates, with a high percentage containing geo-location information. Communication patterns of different user types were discussed for the three contexts. In accordance with previous studies, individuals showed an active participation primarily functioning as information hub during the emergency. Discussion: In the proposed cases codified hashtags have proven to be an effective tool to convey useful information on Twitter by formal and informal sources. Where institutions supported the use of the predefined hashtag in communication activities, like in Tuscany, messages were very focused, with more than 90% of tweets being situational updates. In this perspective, use of codified hashtags may potentially improve the performance of systems for automatic information retrieval and processing during disasters. Keywords: social media, emergency management, Twitter, severe weather PMID:27500010

From SARS to H7N9: the mechanism of responding to emerging communicable diseases has made great progress in China.

PubMed

Yao, Linong; Chen, Enfu; Chen, Zhiping; Gong, Zhenyu

2013-12-01

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 indicated that China's existing former mechanism for emergency management was very vulnerable. The Chinese Government has since established a new mechanism for responding to emerging communicable diseases. This paper examined the current status of and developments in China's response to emerging communicable diseases from the outbreak of SARS in 2003 to the outbreak of H7N9 virus infection in 2013. Results indicated that the current mechanism for emergency responses to emerging communicable diseases in China has made great achievements in terms of command and decision-making, organization and collaboration, monitoring and early warning systems, protection, and international communication and cooperation. This mechanism for responding to emerging communicable diseases allowed China to successfully deal with outbreaks of the H5N1 bird flu, H1N1 flu, and H7N9 bird flu. However, a better coordination system, a more complete Office of Responses to Public Health Emergencies, administrative responsibility and error correction, better personnel training, and government responsibility may help to improve the response to emerging communicable diseases. Such improvements are eagerly anticipated.

Landslide early warning based on failure forecast models: the example of the Mt. de La Saxe rockslide, northern Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manconi, A.; Giordan, D.

2015-07-01

We apply failure forecast models by exploiting near-real-time monitoring data for the La Saxe rockslide, a large unstable slope threatening Aosta Valley in northern Italy. Starting from the inverse velocity theory, we analyze landslide surface displacements automatically and in near real time on different temporal windows and apply straightforward statistical methods to obtain confidence intervals on the estimated time of failure. Here, we present the result obtained for the La Saxe rockslide, a large unstable slope located in Aosta Valley, northern Italy. Based on this case study, we identify operational thresholds that are established on the reliability of the forecast models. Our approach is aimed at supporting the management of early warning systems in the most critical phases of the landslide emergency.

Systems and Sensors for Debris-flow Monitoring and Warning

PubMed Central

Arattano, Massimo; Marchi, Lorenzo

2008-01-01

Debris flows are a type of mass movement that occurs in mountain torrents. They consist of a high concentration of solid material in water that flows as a wave with a steep front. Debris flows can be considered a phenomenon intermediate between landslides and water floods. They are amongst the most hazardous natural processes in mountainous regions and may occur under different climatic conditions. Their destructiveness is due to different factors: their capability of transporting and depositing huge amounts of solid materials, which may also reach large sizes (boulders of several cubic meters are commonly transported by debris flows), their steep fronts, which may reach several meters of height and also their high velocities. The implementation of both structural and non-structural control measures is often required when debris flows endanger routes, urban areas and other infrastructures. Sensor networks for debris-flow monitoring and warning play an important role amongst non-structural measures intended to reduce debris-flow risk. In particular, debris flow warning systems can be subdivided into two main classes: advance warning and event warning systems. These two classes employ different types of sensors. Advance warning systems are based on monitoring causative hydrometeorological processes (typically rainfall) and aim to issue a warning before a possible debris flow is triggered. Event warning systems are based on detecting debris flows when these processes are in progress. They have a much smaller lead time than advance warning ones but are also less prone to false alarms. Advance warning for debris flows employs sensors and techniques typical of meteorology and hydrology, including measuring rainfall by means of rain gauges and weather radar and monitoring water discharge in headwater streams. Event warning systems use different types of sensors, encompassing ultrasonic or radar gauges, ground vibration sensors, videocameras, avalanche pendulums, photocells, trip wires etc. Event warning systems for debris flows have a strong linkage with debris-flow monitoring that is carried out for research purposes: the same sensors are often used for both monitoring and warning, although warning systems have higher requirements of robustness than monitoring systems. The paper presents a description of the sensors employed for debris-flow monitoring and event warning systems, with attention given to advantages and drawbacks of different types of sensors. PMID:27879828

2009 Samoa tsunami: factors that exacerbated or reduced impacts in Samoa and American Samoa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dengler, L. A.; Ewing, L.; Brandt, J.; Irish, J. L.; Jones, C.; Long, K.; Lazrus, H.; McCullough, N.

2009-12-01

An interdisciplinary team with expertise in coastal and port engineering, coastal management, environmental science, anthropology, emergency management, and mitigation visited Samoa and American Samoa in late October and November, 2009. The team, sponsored by ASCE/COPRI, EERI, and the NTHMP focused on identifying the factors which effected the impacts of the September 29, 2009 tsunami. The engineering group assessed the value of engineered coastal protection and natural protective features (reefs, mangroves, etc.) in reducing tsunami inundation by comparing protected and unprotected coastlines and examined possible correlations between damage to the built environment and hydrodynamic forcing, namely loading by runup and velocity. The EERI group looked at how coastal land use planning and management, emergency planning and response, and culture, education and awareness of tsunami hazards affected outcomes. The group also looked at public response to the natural warnings of September 29 and the official warnings following the October 7 Vanuatu tsunami warning.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems for Disaster Relief: Tornado Alley

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeBusk, Wesley M.

2009-01-01

Unmanned aerial vehicle systems are currently in limited use for public service missions worldwide. Development of civil unmanned technology in the United States currently lags behind military unmanned technology development in part because of unresolved regulatory and technological issues. Civil unmanned aerial vehicle systems have potential to augment disaster relief and emergency response efforts. Optimal design of aerial systems for such applications will lead to unmanned vehicles which provide maximum potentiality for relief and emergency response while accounting for public safety concerns and regulatory requirements. A case study is presented that demonstrates application of a civil unmanned system to a disaster relief mission with the intent on saving lives. The concept utilizes unmanned aircraft to obtain advanced warning and damage assessments for tornados and severe thunderstorms. Overview of a tornado watch mission architecture as well as commentary on risk, cost, need for, and design tradeoffs for unmanned aerial systems are provided.

Enhanced Precision Geolocation in 4G Wireless Networks

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

years has implemented a National Emergency Warning System using text messages delivered to cell phones [5]. The November 1999 FCC E911 regulations...statistical theory of passive geolocation of emitters may be found in [18]. Papers that survey methods of geolocation applied to cell phones include [4...where to put the tower % n: which tower to place %randomTowers(obj,dispersion, seperation ): generates % random towers for the network % obj: the network

Earlier warning: a multi-indicator approach to monitoring trends in the illicit use of medicines.

PubMed

Mounteney, Jane; Haugland, Siren

2009-03-01

The availability of medicines on the illicit drug market is currently high on the international policy agenda, linked to adverse health consequences including addiction, drug related overdoses and injection related problems. Continuous surveillance of illicit use of medicines allows for earlier identification and reporting of emerging trends and increased possibilities for earlier intervention to prevent spread of use and drug related harm. This paper aims to identify data sources capable of monitoring the illicit use of medicines; present trend findings for Rohypnol and Subutex using a multi-indicator monitoring approach; and consider the relevance of such models for policy makers. Data collection and analysis were undertaken in Bergen, Norway, using the Bergen Earlier Warning System (BEWS), a multi-indicator drug monitoring system. Data were gathered at six monthly intervals from April 2002 to September 2006. Drug indicator data from seizures, treatment, pharmacy sales, helplines, key informants and media monitoring were triangulated and an aggregated differential was used to plot trends. Results for the 4-year period showed a decline in the illicit use of Rohypnol and an increase in the illicit use of Subutex. Multi-indicator surveillance models can play a strategic role in the earlier identification and reporting of emerging trends in illicit use of medicines.

44 CFR 334.6 - Department and agency responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Department and agency responsibilities. 334.6 Section 334.6 Emergency Management and Assistance FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY... crisis. Costed Option Packages will be developed for actions that may be necessary in the early warning...

The International Platform on Earthquake Early Warning Systems (IP-EEWS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torres, Jair; Fanchiotti, Margherita

2017-04-01

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 recognizes the need to "substantially increase the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information and assessments to the people by 2030" as one of its global targets (target "g"). While considerable progress has been made in recent decades, early warning systems (EWSs) continue to be less developed for geo-hazards and significant challenges remain in advancing the development of EWSs for specific hazards, particularly for fastest onset hazards such as earthquakes. An earthquake early warning system (EEWS) helps in disseminating timely information about potentially catastrophic earthquake hazards to the public, emergency managers and the private sector to provide enough time to implement automatized emergency measures. At the same time, these systems help to reduce considerably the CO2 emissions produced by the catastrophic impacts and subsequent effects of earthquakes, such as those generated by fires, collapses, and pollution (among others), as well as those produced in the recovery and reconstruction processes. In recent years, EEWSs have been developed independently in few countries: EEWSs have shown operational in Japan and Mexico, while other regions in California (USA), Turkey, Italy, Canada, South Korea and China (including Taiwan) are in the development stages or under restricted applications. Many other countries in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Middle East, Eastern Africa, Southeast Africa, as well as Central America, South America and the Caribbean, are located in some of the most seismically active regions in the world, or present moderate seismicity but high vulnerability, and would strongly benefit from the development of EEWSs. Given that, in many instances, the development of an EEWS still requires further testing, increased density coverage in seismic observation stations, regional coordination, and further scientific understanding, there is a strong need to enhance the technical and operational capacities required for these systems and to further understand the implications for policy. In an effort to address this gap, in December 2015, UNESCO launched the International Platform on Earthquake Early Warning Systems (IP-EEWS). The main objective of the Platform is to assess the current state of the art in the development and operationalisation of EEWS globally, foster dialogue and international cooperation for capacity building around these systems, and therefore promote and strengthen EEWS in earthquake-prone countries worldwide. This paper will discuss the opportunities and challenges for the development and operationalisation of these systems, as well as the specific aim, objectives and expected contributions of this newly established Platform. The following ten countries are already represented in IP-EEWS through leading scientific experts in top institutions: USA (University of California Berkeley), Japan (Meteorological Research Institute), Mexico (Centro de Instrumentacion y Registro Sismico), Italy (University of Naples Federico II), Switzerland (ETH - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich), Spain (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), Turkey (Kandili Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, Boǧaziçi University), Germany (GFZ - German Research Centre for Geosciences), China (University of Beijing), and Romania (National Institute for Earth Physics). More countries are expected to join the initiative.

Secure Utilization of Beacons and UAVs in Emergency Response Systems for Building Fire Hazard

PubMed Central

Seo, Seung-Hyun; Choi, Jung-In; Song, Jinseok

2017-01-01

An intelligent emergency system for hazard monitoring and building evacuation is a very important application area in Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Through the use of smart sensors, such a system can provide more vital and reliable information to first-responders and also reduce the incidents of false alarms. Several smart monitoring and warning systems do already exist, though they exhibit key weaknesses such as a limited monitoring coverage and security, which have not yet been sufficiently addressed. In this paper, we propose a monitoring and emergency response method for buildings by utilizing beacons and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) on an IoT security platform. In order to demonstrate the practicability of our method, we also implement a proof of concept prototype, which we call the UAV-EMOR (UAV-assisted Emergency Monitoring and Response) system. Our UAV-EMOR system provides the following novel features: (1) secure communications between UAVs, smart sensors, the control server and a smartphone app for security managers; (2) enhanced coordination between smart sensors and indoor/outdoor UAVs to expand real-time monitoring coverage; and (3) beacon-aided rescue and building evacuation. PMID:28946659

Secure Utilization of Beacons and UAVs in Emergency Response Systems for Building Fire Hazard.

PubMed

Seo, Seung-Hyun; Choi, Jung-In; Song, Jinseok

2017-09-25

An intelligent emergency system for hazard monitoring and building evacuation is a very important application area in Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Through the use of smart sensors, such a system can provide more vital and reliable information to first-responders and also reduce the incidents of false alarms. Several smart monitoring and warning systems do already exist, though they exhibit key weaknesses such as a limited monitoring coverage and security, which have not yet been sufficiently addressed. In this paper, we propose a monitoring and emergency response method for buildings by utilizing beacons and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) on an IoT security platform. In order to demonstrate the practicability of our method, we also implement a proof of concept prototype, which we call the UAV-EMOR (UAV-assisted Emergency Monitoring and Response) system. Our UAV-EMOR system provides the following novel features: (1) secure communications between UAVs, smart sensors, the control server and a smartphone app for security managers; (2) enhanced coordination between smart sensors and indoor/outdoor UAVs to expand real-time monitoring coverage; and (3) beacon-aided rescue and building evacuation.

Prototype Early Warning Systems for Vector-Borne Diseases in Europe

PubMed Central

Semenza, Jan C.

2015-01-01

Globalization and environmental change, social and demographic determinants and health system capacity are significant drivers of infectious diseases which can also act as epidemic precursors. Thus, monitoring changes in these drivers can help anticipate, or even forecast, an upsurge of infectious diseases. The European Environment and Epidemiology (E3) Network has been built for this purpose and applied to three early warning case studies: (1) The environmental suitability of malaria transmission in Greece was mapped in order to target epidemiological and entomological surveillance and vector control activities. Malaria transmission in these areas was interrupted in 2013 through such integrated preparedness and response activities. (2) Since 2010, recurrent West Nile fever outbreaks have ensued in South/eastern Europe. Temperature deviations from a thirty year average proved to be associated with the 2010 outbreak. Drivers of subsequent outbreaks were computed through multivariate logistic regression models and included monthly temperature anomalies for July and a normalized water index. (3) Dengue is a tropical disease but sustained transmission has recently emerged in Madeira. Autochthonous transmission has also occurred repeatedly in France and in Croatia mainly due to travel importation. The risk of dengue importation into Europe in 2010 was computed with the volume of international travelers from dengue affected areas worldwide.These prototype early warning systems indicate that monitoring drivers of infectious diseases can help predict vector-borne disease threats. PMID:26042370

Prototype early warning systems for vector-borne diseases in Europe.

PubMed

Semenza, Jan C

2015-06-02

Globalization and environmental change, social and demographic determinants and health system capacity are significant drivers of infectious diseases which can also act as epidemic precursors. Thus, monitoring changes in these drivers can help anticipate, or even forecast, an upsurge of infectious diseases. The European Environment and Epidemiology (E3) Network has been built for this purpose and applied to three early warning case studies: (1) The environmental suitability of malaria transmission in Greece was mapped in order to target epidemiological and entomological surveillance and vector control activities. Malaria transmission in these areas was interrupted in 2013 through such integrated preparedness and response activities. (2) Since 2010, recurrent West Nile fever outbreaks have ensued in South/eastern Europe. Temperature deviations from a thirty year average proved to be associated with the 2010 outbreak. Drivers of subsequent outbreaks were computed through multivariate logistic regression models and included monthly temperature anomalies for July and a normalized water index. (3) Dengue is a tropical disease but sustained transmission has recently emerged in Madeira. Autochthonous transmission has also occurred repeatedly in France and in Croatia mainly due to travel importation. The risk of dengue importation into Europe in 2010 was computed with the volume of international travelers from dengue affected areas worldwide.These prototype early warning systems indicate that monitoring drivers of infectious diseases can help predict vector-borne disease threats.

30 CFR 75.1103-3 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; minimum requirements; general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-3 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; minimum requirements; general. Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems installed in belt haulageways of...

30 CFR 75.1103-3 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; minimum requirements; general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-3 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; minimum requirements; general. Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems installed in belt haulageways of...

30 CFR 75.1103-3 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; minimum requirements; general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-3 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; minimum requirements; general. Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems installed in belt haulageways of...

30 CFR 75.1103-3 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; minimum requirements; general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-3 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; minimum requirements; general. Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems installed in belt haulageways of...

The Trend of Voluntary Warnings in Electronic Nicotine Delivery System Magazine Advertisements.

PubMed

Shang, Ce; Chaloupka, Frank J

2017-01-10

Some manufacturers of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) voluntarily carried health warnings in their advertisements. This study examined these voluntary warnings in magazine ads and plotted their trends between 2012 and early 2015. ENDS magazine ads were obtained through Kantar media and warnings were collected from the Chicago Public Library or the Trinkets and Trash surveillance system. The prevalence of voluntary warnings, warnings with the specific capitalized word "WARNING", and MarkTen warnings were examined after being weighted using factors related to exposure between January 2012 and March 2015. Five brands (MarkTen, NJOY, MISTIC, and some Blu) carried warnings during the study period. The prevalence of warnings post 2012 that contained a description of nicotine did not significantly increase until the launch of MarkTen, which also happened several months before April 2014 when the U.S. food and drug administration (FDA) published its proposed deeming rule. In addition, none of these warnings met the criteria required by the FDA in the final rules. Voluntary warnings, particularly MarkTen warnings, significantly increased in ENDS magazine ads between 2014 and 2015. It is important to monitor how ENDS manufacturers will comply with the FDA regulation related to warnings and how this regulation will ultimately impact ENDS risk perceptions and use.

Predictors for the Number of Warning Information Sources During Tornadoes.

PubMed

Cong, Zhen; Luo, Jianjun; Liang, Daan; Nejat, Ali

2017-04-01

People may receive tornado warnings from multiple information sources, but little is known about factors that affect the number of warning information sources (WISs). This study examined predictors for the number of WISs with a telephone survey on randomly sampled residents in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Joplin, Missouri, approximately 1 year after both cities were struck by violent tornadoes (EF4 and EF5) in 2011. The survey included 1006 finished interviews and the working sample included 903 respondents. Poisson regression and Zero-Inflated Poisson regression showed that older age and having an emergency plan predicted more WISs in both cities. Education, marital status, and gender affected the possibilities of receiving warnings and the number of WISs either in Joplin or in Tuscaloosa. The findings suggest that social disparity affects the access to warnings not only with respect to the likelihood of receiving any warnings but also with respect to the number of WISs. In addition, historical and social contexts are important for examining predictors for the number of WISs. We recommend that the number of WISs should be regarded as an important measure to evaluate access to warnings in addition to the likelihood of receiving warnings. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:168-172).

The effects of volcanoes on health: preparedness in Mexico.

PubMed

Zeballos, J L; Meli, R; Vilchis, A; Barrios, L

1996-01-01

The article reviews the most important aspects of volcanic eruptions and presents a summary of the harmful materials they emit. The main health effects can be classified as either physical (trauma, respiratory diseases, etc.) or psychological (depression, anxiety, nightmares, neurosis, etc.). Popocatépetl, the most famous active volcano in Mexico, lies on the borders of the States of Mexico, Puebla and Morelos. In 1993, seismic activity intensified, as did as the emission of fumaroles, followed in December 1994 by moderate tremors and strong emissions of gases and ash. In 1996, a number of seismic events led to an unexpected explosion. A daily emission of 8,000 to 15,000 tonnes of sulfur dioxide has been measured. Popocatépetl is located in a densely populated region of Mexico. A complex network to monitor the volcano using sophisticated equipment has been set up, including visual surveillance, seismic, geochemical and geodesic monitoring. An early warning system (SINAPROC/CENAPRED) has been developed to keep the population permanently informed. The warning system uses colour codes: green for normal, yellow for alert, and red for warning and evacuation. An emergency plan has been prepared, including evacuation and preparation for medical centres and hospitals in the region, as well as intense public information campaigns.

Early Warning System Implementation Guide: For Use with the National High School Center's Early Warning System Tool v2.0

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Therriault, Susan Bowles; Heppen, Jessica; O'Cummings, Mindee; Fryer, Lindsay; Johnson, Amy

2010-01-01

This Early Warning System (EWS) Implementation Guide is a supporting document for schools and districts that are implementing the National High School Center's Early Warning System (EWS) Tool v2.0. Developed by the National High School Center at the American Institutes for Research (AIR), the guide and tool support the establishment and…

Implementing Obstetric Early Warning Systems.

PubMed

Friedman, Alexander M; Campbell, Mary L; Kline, Carolyn R; Wiesner, Suzanne; D'Alton, Mary E; Shields, Laurence E

2018-04-01

Severe maternal morbidity and mortality are often preventable and obstetric early warning systems that alert care providers of potential impending critical illness may improve maternal safety. While literature on outcomes and test characteristics of maternal early warning systems is evolving, there is limited guidance on implementation. Given current interest in early warning systems and their potential role in care, the 2017 Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) Annual Meeting dedicated a session to exploring early warning implementation across a wide range of hospital settings. This manuscript reports on key points from this session. While implementation experiences varied based on factors specific to individual sites, common themes relevant to all hospitals presenting were identified. Successful implementation of early warnings systems requires administrative and leadership support, dedication of resources, improved coordination between nurses, providers, and ancillary staff, optimization of information technology, effective education, evaluation of and change in hospital culture and practices, and support in provider decision-making. Evolving data on outcomes on early warning systems suggest that maternal risk may be reduced. To effectively reduce maternal, risk early warning systems that capture deterioration from a broad range of conditions may be required in addition to bundles tailored to specific conditions such as hemorrhage, thromboembolism, and hypertension.

Technology-Based Early Warning Systems for Bipolar Disorder: A Conceptual Framework

PubMed Central

Torous, John; Thompson, Wesley

2016-01-01

Recognition and timely action around “warning signs” of illness exacerbation is central to the self-management of bipolar disorder. Due to its heterogeneity and fluctuating course, passive and active mobile technologies have been increasingly evaluated as adjunctive or standalone tools to predict and prevent risk of worsening of course in bipolar disorder. As predictive analytics approaches to big data from mobile health (mHealth) applications and ancillary sensors advance, it is likely that early warning systems will increasingly become available to patients. Such systems could reduce the amount of time spent experiencing symptoms and diminish the immense disability experienced by people with bipolar disorder. However, in addition to the challenges in validating such systems, we argue that early warning systems may not be without harms. Probabilistic warnings may be delivered to individuals who may not be able to interpret the warning, have limited information about what behaviors to change, or are unprepared to or cannot feasibly act due to time or logistic constraints. We propose five essential elements for early warning systems and provide a conceptual framework for designing, incorporating stakeholder input, and validating early warning systems for bipolar disorder with a focus on pragmatic considerations. PMID:27604265

Use of radar rainfall estimates and forecasts to prevent flash flood in real time by using a road inundation warning system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Versini, Pierre-Antoine

2012-01-01

SummaryImportant damages occur in small headwater catchments when they are hit by severe storms with complex spatio-temporal structure, sometimes resulting in flash floods. As these catchments are mostly not covered by sensor networks, it is difficult to forecast these floods. This is particularly true for road submersions, representing major concerns for flood event managers. The use of Quantitative Precipitation Estimates and Forecasts (QPE/QPF) especially based on radar measurements could particularly be adequate to evaluate rainfall-induced risks. Although their characteristic time and space scales would make them suitable for flash flood modelling, the impact of their uncertainties remain uncertain and have to be evaluated. The Gard region (France) has been chosen as case study. This area is frequently affected by severe flash floods, and an application devoted to the road network has also been recently developed for the North part of this region. This warning system combines distributed hydro-meteorological modelling and susceptibility analysis to provide warnings of road inundations. The warning system has been tested on the specific storm of the 29-30 September 2007. During this event, around 200 mm dropped on the South part of the Gard and many roads were submerged. Radar-based QPE and QPF have been used to forecast the exact location of road submersions and the results have been compared to the effective road submersions actually occurred during the event as listed by the emergency services. Used on an area it has not been calibrated, the results confirm that the road submersion warning system represents a promising tool for anticipating and quantifying the consequences of storm events at ground. It rates the submersion risk with an acceptable level of accuracy and demonstrates also the quality of high spatial and temporal resolution radar rainfall data in real time, and the possibility to use them despite their uncertainties. However because of the quality of rainfall forecasts falls drastically with time, it is not often sufficient to provide valuable information for lead times exceeding 1 h.

Observed activation status of lane departure warning and forward collision warning of Honda vehicles at dealership service centers.

PubMed

Reagan, Ian J; McCartt, Anne T

2016-11-16

There are little objective data on whether drivers with lane departure warning and forward collision warning systems actually use them, but self-report data indicate that lane departure warning may be used less and viewed less favorably than forward collision warning. The current study assessed whether the systems were turned on when drivers brought their vehicles to dealership service stations and whether the observational protocol is a feasible method for collecting similar data on various manufacturers' systems. Observations of 2013-2015 Honda Accords, 2014-2015 Odysseys, and 2015 CR-Vs occurred at 2 U.S. Honda dealerships for approximately 4 weeks during Summer 2015. Of the 265 vehicles observed to have the 2 systems, 87 (32.8%) had lane departure warning turned on. Accords were associated with a 66% increase in the likelihood that lane departure warning was turned on compared with Odysseys, but the rate was still only about 40% in Accords. In contrast, forward collision warning was turned on in all but one of the observed vehicles. Observations found that the activation rate was much higher for forward collision warning than lane departure warning. The observation method worked well and appears feasible for extending to other manufacturers.

30 CFR 75.1103-8 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-8 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements. (a) Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems shall be examined at...

30 CFR 75.1103-8 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-8 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements. (a) Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems shall be examined at...

30 CFR 75.1103-8 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-8 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements. (a) Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems shall be examined at...

30 CFR 75.1103-8 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-8 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements. (a) Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems shall be examined at...

30 CFR 75.1103-8 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-8 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements. (a) Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems shall be examined at...

76 FR 35327 - Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing Company Model 737-600, -700, -700C, -800, -900, and -900ER...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-17

... stabilizer takeoff warning switches, and corrective actions if necessary. This AD was prompted by reports that the warning horn did not sound during the takeoff warning system test of the S132 ``nose up stab takeoff warning switch.'' We are issuing this AD to detect and correct a takeoff warning system switch...

75 FR 55691 - Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing Company Model 737-600, -700, -700C, -800, -900, and -900ER...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-14

... takeoff warning switches, and corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD results from reports that the warning horn did not sound during the takeoff warning system test of the S132 ``nose up stab takeoff warning switch.'' We are proposing this AD to detect and correct a takeoff warning system switch...

Advanced driver assistance systems: Using multimodal redundant warnings to enhance road safety.

PubMed

Biondi, Francesco; Strayer, David L; Rossi, Riccardo; Gastaldi, Massimiliano; Mulatti, Claudio

2017-01-01

This study investigated whether multimodal redundant warnings presented by advanced assistance systems reduce brake response times. Warnings presented by assistance systems are designed to assist drivers by informing them that evasive driving maneuvers are needed in order to avoid a potential accident. If these warnings are poorly designed, they may distract drivers, slow their responses, and reduce road safety. In two experiments, participants drove a simulated vehicle equipped with a forward collision avoidance system. Auditory, vibrotactile, and multimodal warnings were presented when the time to collision was shorter than five seconds. The effects of these warnings were investigated with participants performing a concurrent cell phone conversation (Exp. 1) or driving in high-density traffic (Exp. 2). Braking times and subjective workload were measured. Multimodal redundant warnings elicited faster braking reaction times. These warnings were found to be effective even when talking on a cell phone (Exp. 1) or driving in dense traffic (Exp. 2). Multimodal warnings produced higher ratings of urgency, but ratings of frustration did not increase compared to other warnings. Findings obtained in these two experiments are important given that faster braking responses may reduce the potential for a collision. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A systematic approach to advanced cockpit warning systems for air transport operations: Line pilot preferences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, D. H.; Simpson, C. A.

1976-01-01

Line pilots (fifty captains, first officers, and flight engineers) from 8 different airlines were administered a structured questionnaire relating to future warning system design and solutions to current warning system problems. This was followed by a semantic differential to obtain a factor analysis of 18 different cockpit warning signals on scales such as informative/distracting, annoying/soothing. Half the pilots received a demonstration of the experimental text and voice synthesizer warning systems before answering the questionnaire and the semantic differential. A control group answered the questionnaire and the semantic differential first, thus providing a check for the stability of pilot preferences with and without actual exposure to experimental systems. Generally, the preference data obtained revealed much consistency and strong agreement among line pilots concerning advance cockpit warning system design.

The Trend of Voluntary Warnings in Electronic Nicotine Delivery System Magazine Advertisements

PubMed Central

Shang, Ce; Chaloupka, Frank J.

2017-01-01

Some manufacturers of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) voluntarily carried health warnings in their advertisements. This study examined these voluntary warnings in magazine ads and plotted their trends between 2012 and early 2015. ENDS magazine ads were obtained through Kantar media and warnings were collected from the Chicago Public Library or the Trinkets and Trash surveillance system. The prevalence of voluntary warnings, warnings with the specific capitalized word “WARNING”, and MarkTen warnings were examined after being weighted using factors related to exposure between January 2012 and March 2015. Five brands (MarkTen, NJOY, MISTIC, and some Blu) carried warnings during the study period. The prevalence of warnings post 2012 that contained a description of nicotine did not significantly increase until the launch of MarkTen, which also happened several months before April 2014 when the U.S. food and drug administration (FDA) published its proposed deeming rule. In addition, none of these warnings met the criteria required by the FDA in the final rules. Voluntary warnings, particularly MarkTen warnings, significantly increased in ENDS magazine ads between 2014 and 2015. It is important to monitor how ENDS manufacturers will comply with the FDA regulation related to warnings and how this regulation will ultimately impact ENDS risk perceptions and use. PMID:28075420

Assessing the performance of regional landslide early warning models: the EDuMaP method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calvello, M.; Piciullo, L.

2015-10-01

The paper proposes the evaluation of the technical performance of a regional landslide early warning system by means of an original approach, called EDuMaP method, comprising three successive steps: identification and analysis of the Events (E), i.e. landslide events and warning events derived from available landslides and warnings databases; definition and computation of a Duration Matrix (DuMa), whose elements report the time associated with the occurrence of landslide events in relation to the occurrence of warning events, in their respective classes; evaluation of the early warning model Performance (P) by means of performance criteria and indicators applied to the duration matrix. During the first step, the analyst takes into account the features of the warning model by means of ten input parameters, which are used to identify and classify landslide and warning events according to their spatial and temporal characteristics. In the second step, the analyst computes a time-based duration matrix having a number of rows and columns equal to the number of classes defined for the warning and landslide events, respectively. In the third step, the analyst computes a series of model performance indicators derived from a set of performance criteria, which need to be defined by considering, once again, the features of the warning model. The proposed method is based on a framework clearly distinguishing between local and regional landslide early warning systems as well as among correlation laws, warning models and warning systems. The applicability, potentialities and limitations of the EDuMaP method are tested and discussed using real landslides and warnings data from the municipal early warning system operating in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).

Design of vehicle intelligent anti-collision warning system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Yangyang; Wang, Ying

2018-05-01

This paper mainly designs a low cost, high-accuracy, micro-miniaturization, and digital display and acousto-optic alarm features of the vehicle intelligent anti-collision warning system that based on MCU AT89C51. The vehicle intelligent anti-collision warning system includes forward anti-collision warning system, auto parking systems and reversing anti-collision radar system. It mainly develops on the basis of ultrasonic distance measurement, its performance is reliable, thus the driving safety is greatly improved and the parking security and efficiency enhance enormously.

The U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program: Successes in Tsunami Preparedness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitmore, P.; Wilson, R. I.

2012-12-01

Formed in 1995 by Congressional Action, the National Tsunami Hazards Mitigation Program (NTHMP) provides the framework for tsunami preparedness activities in the United States. The Program consists of the 28 U.S. coastal states, territories, and commonwealths (STCs), as well as three Federal agencies: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Since its inception, the NTHMP has advanced tsunami preparedness in the United States through accomplishments in many areas of tsunami preparedness: - Coordination and funding of tsunami hazard analysis and preparedness activities in STCs; - Development and execution of a coordinated plan to address education and outreach activities (materials, signage, and guides) within its membership; - Lead the effort to assist communities in meeting National Weather Service (NWS) TsunamiReady guidelines through development of evacuation maps and other planning activities; - Determination of tsunami hazard zones in most highly threatened coastal communities throughout the country by detailed tsunami inundation studies; - Development of a benchmarking procedure for numerical tsunami models to ensure models used in the inundation studies meet consistent, NOAA standards; - Creation of a national tsunami exercise framework to test tsunami warning system response; - Funding community tsunami warning dissemination and reception systems such as sirens and NOAA Weather Radios; and, - Providing guidance to NOAA's Tsunami Warning Centers regarding warning dissemination and content. NTHMP activities have advanced the state of preparedness of United States coastal communities, and have helped save lives and property during recent tsunamis. Program successes as well as future plans, including maritime preparedness, are discussed.

Anatomy of Historical Tsunamis: Lessons Learned for Tsunami Warning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Igarashi, Y.; Kong, L.; Yamamoto, M.; McCreery, C. S.

2011-11-01

Tsunamis are high-impact disasters that can cause death and destruction locally within a few minutes of their occurrence and across oceans hours, even up to a day, afterward. Efforts to establish tsunami warning systems to protect life and property began in the Pacific after the 1946 Aleutian Islands tsunami caused casualties in Hawaii. Seismic and sea level data were used by a central control center to evaluate tsunamigenic potential and then issue alerts and warnings. The ensuing events of 1952, 1957, and 1960 tested the new system, which continued to expand and evolve from a United States system to an international system in 1965. The Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific (ITSU) steadily improved through the decades as more stations became available in real and near-real time through better communications technology and greater bandwidth. New analysis techniques, coupled with more data of higher quality, resulted in better detection, greater solution accuracy, and more reliable warnings, but limitations still exist in constraining the source and in accurately predicting propagation of the wave from source to shore. Tsunami event data collected over the last two decades through international tsunami science surveys have led to more realistic models for source generation and inundation, and within the warning centers, real-time tsunami wave forecasting will become a reality in the near future. The tsunami warning system is an international cooperative effort amongst countries supported by global and national monitoring networks and dedicated tsunami warning centers; the research community has contributed to the system by advancing and improving its analysis tools. Lessons learned from the earliest tsunamis provided the backbone for the present system, but despite 45 years of experience, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami reminded us that tsunamis strike and kill everywhere, not just in the Pacific. Today, a global intergovernmental tsunami warning system is coordinated under the United Nations. This paper reviews historical tsunamis, their warning activities, and their sea level records to highlight lessons learned with the focus on how these insights have helped to drive further development of tsunami warning systems and their tsunami warning centers. While the international systems do well for teletsunamis, faster detection, more accurate evaluations, and widespread timely alerts are still the goals, and challenges still remain to achieving early warning against the more frequent and destructive local tsunamis.

Specification of parameters for development of a spatial database for drought monitoring and famine early warning in the African Sahel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rochon, Gilbert L.

1989-01-01

Parameters were described for spatial database to facilitate drought monitoring and famine early warning in the African Sahel. The proposed system, referred to as the African Drought and Famine Information System (ADFIS) is ultimately recommended for implementation with the NASA/FEMA Spatial Analysis and Modeling System (SAMS), a GIS/Dymanic Modeling software package, currently under development. SAMS is derived from FEMA'S Integration Emergency Management Information System (IEMIS) and the Pacific Northwest Laborotory's/Engineering Topographic Laboratory's Airland Battlefield Environment (ALBE) GIS. SAMS is primarily intended for disaster planning and resource management applications with the developing countries. Sources of data for the system would include the Developing Economics Branch of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, the World Bank, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine's Famine Early Warning Systems (FEWS) Project, the USAID's Foreign Disaster Assistance Section, the World Resources Institute, the World Meterological Institute, the USGS, the UNFAO, UNICEF, and the United Nations Disaster Relief Organization (UNDRO). Satellite imagery would include decadal AVHRR imagery and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values from 1981 to the present for the African continent and selected Landsat scenes for the Sudan pilot study. The system is initially conceived for the MicroVAX 2/GPX, running VMS. To facilitate comparative analysis, a global time-series database (1950 to 1987) is included for a basic set of 125 socio-economic variables per country per year. A more detailed database for the Sahelian countries includes soil type, water resources, agricultural production, agricultural import and export, food aid, and consumption. A pilot dataset for the Sudan with over 2,500 variables from the World Bank's ANDREX system, also includes epidemiological data on incidence of kwashiorkor, marasmus, other nutritional deficiencies, and synergistically-related infectious diseases.

49 CFR 234.205 - Operating characteristics of warning system apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Operating characteristics of warning system... Maintenance Standards § 234.205 Operating characteristics of warning system apparatus. Operating... system shall be maintained in accordance with the limits within which the system is designed to operate. ...

49 CFR 234.205 - Operating characteristics of warning system apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Operating characteristics of warning system... Maintenance Standards § 234.205 Operating characteristics of warning system apparatus. Operating... system shall be maintained in accordance with the limits within which the system is designed to operate. ...

49 CFR 234.205 - Operating characteristics of warning system apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Operating characteristics of warning system... Maintenance Standards § 234.205 Operating characteristics of warning system apparatus. Operating... system shall be maintained in accordance with the limits within which the system is designed to operate. ...

Rule Based Expert System for Monitoring Real Time Drug Supply in Hospital Using Radio Frequency Identification Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Driandanu, Galih; Surarso, Bayu; Suryono

2018-02-01

A radio frequency identification (RFID) has obtained increasing attention with the emergence of various applications. This study aims to examine the implementation of rule based expert system supported by RFID technology into a monitoring information system of drug supply in a hospital. This research facilitates in monitoring the real time drug supply by using data sample from the hospital pharmacy. This system able to identify and count the number of drug and provide warning and report in real time. the conclusion is the rule based expert system and RFID technology can facilitate the performance in monitoring the drug supply quickly and precisely.

The social impacts of the heat-health watch/warning system in Phoenix, Arizona: assessing the perceived risk and response of the public.

PubMed

Kalkstein, Adam J; Sheridan, Scott C

2007-10-01

Heat is the leading weather-related killer in the United States. Although previous research suggests that social influences affect human responses to natural disaster warnings, no studies have examined the social impacts of heat or heat warnings on a population. Here, 201 surveys were distributed in Metropolitan Phoenix to determine the social impacts of the heat warning system, or more specifically, to gauge risk perception and warning response. Consistent with previous research, increased risk perception of heat results in increased response to a warning. Different social factors such as sex, race, age, and income all play an important role in determining whether or not people will respond to a warning. In particular, there is a strong sense of perceived risk to the heat among Hispanics which translates to increased response when heat warnings are issued. Based on these findings, suggestions are presented to help improve the Phoenix Heat Warning System.

Operational Space Weather Products at IPS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neudegg, D.; Steward, G.; Marshall, R.; Terkildsen, M.; Kennewell, J.; Patterson, G.; Panwar, R.

2008-12-01

IPS Radio and Space Services operates an extensive network (IPSNET) of monitoring stations and observatories within the Australasian and Antarctic regions to gather information on the space environment. This includes ionosondes, magnetometers, GPS-ISM, oblique HF sounding, riometers, and solar radio and optical telescopes. IPS exchanges this information with similar organisations world-wide. The Regional Warning Centre (RWC) is the Australian Space Forecast Centre (ASFC) and it utilizes this data to provide products and services to support customer operations. A wide range of customers use IPS services including; defence force and emergency services using HF radio communications and surveillance systems, organisations involved in geophysical exploration and pipeline cathodic protection, GPS users in aviation. Subscriptions to the alerts, warnings, forecasts and reports regarding the solar, geophysical and ionospheric conditions are distributed by email and Special Message Service (SMS). IPS also develops and markets widely used PC software prediction tools for HF radio skywave and surface wave (ASAPS/GWPS) and provides consultancy services for system planning.

Undermining optimistic denial reactions to domestic and campus emergency warning messages.

PubMed

Thompson, Suzanne C; Schlehofer, Michele M

2014-07-01

Individuals who prepare for public emergencies can mitigate the effects of an incident, but denial of personal susceptibility may reduce the likelihood of preparation. Some denial may be due to a positive self-image that is at odds with being "at risk". The potential for an enhanced warning message that included a positive image of a protector to circumvent this denial was tested in two studies. Optimistic denial threat orientation was measured. Then participants received either a traditional or a positive protector warning message about terrorism (Study 1; nationally representative sample of US adults; N = 587) or campus emergency preparation (Study 2; US college students; N = 179). As predicted, in the enhanced image condition optimistic denial was no longer related to stronger denial reactions and lower intentions to protect oneself. In addition, Study 2 tested explanatory mediators and found that negative perceptions of and low similarity to a protector partially explained the denial of those higher in optimistic denial and why their denial was dampened in the positive image condition. An enhanced message including a positive image of protector may be an effective way to encourage protection for those prone to optimistic denial. © 2014 The International Association of Applied Psychology.

Enhancing Community Based Early Warning Systems in Nepal with Flood Forecasting Using Local and Global Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dugar, Sumit; Smith, Paul; Parajuli, Binod; Khanal, Sonu; Brown, Sarah; Gautam, Dilip; Bhandari, Dinanath; Gurung, Gehendra; Shakya, Puja; Kharbuja, RamGopal; Uprety, Madhab

2017-04-01

Operationalising effective Flood Early Warning Systems (EWS) in developing countries like Nepal poses numerous challenges, with complex topography and geology, sparse network of river and rainfall gauging stations and diverse socio-economic conditions. Despite these challenges, simple real-time monitoring based EWSs have been in place for the past decade. A key constraint of these simple systems is the very limited lead time for response - as little as 2-3 hours, especially for rivers originating from steep mountainous catchments. Efforts to increase lead time for early warning are focusing on imbedding forecasts into the existing early warning systems. In 2016, the Nepal Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) piloted an operational Probabilistic Flood Forecasting Model in major river basins across Nepal. This comprised a low data approach to forecast water levels, developed jointly through a research/practitioner partnership with Lancaster University and WaterNumbers (UK) and the International NGO Practical Action. Using Data-Based Mechanistic Modelling (DBM) techniques, the model assimilated rainfall and water levels to generate localised hourly flood predictions, which are presented as probabilistic forecasts, increasing lead times from 2-3 hours to 7-8 hours. The Nepal DHM has simultaneously started utilizing forecasts from the Global Flood Awareness System (GLoFAS) that provides streamflow predictions at the global scale based upon distributed hydrological simulations using numerical ensemble weather forecasts from the ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). The aforementioned global and local models have already affected the approach to early warning in Nepal, being operational during the 2016 monsoon in the West Rapti basin in Western Nepal. On 24 July 2016, GLoFAS hydrological forecasts for the West Rapti indicated a sharp rise in river discharge above 1500 m3/sec (equivalent to the river warning level at 5 meters) with 53% probability of exceeding the Medium Level Alert in two days. Rainfall stations upstream of the West Rapti catchment recorded heavy rainfall on 26 July, and localized forecasts from the probabilistic model at 8 am suggested that the water level would cross a pre-determined warning level in the next 3 hours. The Flood Forecasting Section at DHM issued a flood advisory, and disseminated SMS flood alerts to more than 13,000 at-risk people residing along the floodplains. Water levels crossed the danger threshold (5.4 meters) at 11 am, peaking at 8.15 meters at 10 pm. Extension of the warning lead time from probabilistic forecasts was significant in minimising the risk to lives and livelihoods as communities gained extra time to prepare, evacuate and respond. Likewise, longer timescale forecasts from GLoFAS could be potentially linked with no-regret early actions leading to improved preparedness and emergency response. These forecasting tools have contributed to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of existing community based systems, increasing the lead time for response. Nevertheless, extensive work is required on appropriate ways to interpret and disseminate probabilistic forecasts having longer (2-14 days) and shorter (3-5 hours) time horizon for operational deployment as there are numerous uncertainties associated with predictions.

Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Warnings at Raleigh, North Carolina.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoium, Debra K.; Riordan, Allen J.; Monahan, John; Keeter, Kermit K.

1997-11-01

The National Weather Service issues public warnings for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes when these storms appear imminent. A study of the warning process was conducted at the National Weather Service Forecast Office at Raleigh, North Carolina, from 1994 through 1996. The purpose of the study was to examine the decision process by documenting the types of information leading to decisions to warn or not to warn and by describing the sequence and timing of events in the development of warnings. It was found that the evolution of warnings followed a logical sequence beginning with storm monitoring and proceeding with increasingly focused activity. For simplicity, information input to the process was categorized as one of three types: ground truth, radar reflectivity, or radar velocity.Reflectivity, velocity, and ground truth were all equally likely to initiate the investigation process. This investigation took an average of 7 min, after which either a decision was made not to warn or new information triggered the warning. Decisions not to issue warnings were based more on ground truth and reflectivity than radar velocity products. Warnings with investigations of more than 2 min were more likely to be triggered by radar reflectivity, than by velocity or ground truth. Warnings with a shorter investigation time, defined here as "immediate trigger warnings," were less frequently based on velocity products and more on ground truth information. Once the decision was made to warn, it took an average of 2.1 min to prepare the warning text. In 85% of cases when warnings were issued, at least one contact was made to emergency management officials or storm spotters in the warned county. Reports of severe weather were usually received soon after the warning was transmitted-almost half of these within 30 min after issue. A total of 68% were received during the severe weather episode, but some of these storm reports later proved false according to Storm Data.Even though the WSR-88D is a sophisticated tool, ground truth information was found to be a vital part of the warning process. However, the data did not indicate that population density was statistically correlated either with the number of warnings issued or the verification rate.

Electronic warfare microwave components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cosby, L. A.

1984-09-01

The current and projected state-of-the-art for electronic warfare (EW) microwave components is reviewed, with attention given to microwave components used extensively in EW systems for reconnaissance, threat warning, direction finding, and repeater jamming. It is emphasized that distributed EW systems must be able to operate from manned tactical and strategic platforms, with requirements including remote aerospace and space elements, as well as the need for expandable devices for detection, location, and denial/deception functions. EW coordination, or battle management, across a distributed system is a rapidly emerging requirement that must be integrated into current and projected command-and-control programs.

Ballistic Missile Early Warning System Clear Air Force Station, ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Ballistic Missile Early Warning System - Clear Air Force Station, Ballistic Missile Early Warning System Site II, One mile west of mile marker 293.5 on Parks Highway, 5 miles southwest of Anderson, Anderson, Denali Borough, AK

Managing Risks? Early Warning Systems for Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sitati, A. M.; Zommers, Z. A.; Habilov, M.

2014-12-01

Early warning systems are a tool with which to minimize risks posed by climate related hazards. Although great strides have been made in developing early warning systems most deal with one hazard, only provide short-term warnings and do not reach the most vulnerable. This presentation will review research results of the United Nations Environment Programme's CLIM-WARN project. The project seeks to identify how governments can better communicate risks by designing multi-hazard early warning systems that deliver actionable warnings across timescales. Household surveys and focus group discussions were conducted in 36 communities in Kenya, Ghana and Burkina Faso in order to identify relevant climate related hazards, current response strategies and early warning needs. Preliminary results show significant variability in both risks and needs within and between countries. For instance, floods are more frequent in rural western parts of Kenya. Droughts are frequent in the north while populations in urban areas face a range of hazards - floods, droughts, disease outbreaks - that sometimes occur simultaneously. The majority of the rural population, especially women, the disabled and the elderly, do not have access to modern media such as radio, television, or internet. While 55% of rural populace never watches television, 64% of urban respondents watch television on a daily basis. Communities have different concepts of how to design warning systems. It will be a challenge for national governments to create systems that accommodate such diversity yet provide standard quality of service to all. There is a need for flexible and forward-looking early warning systems that deliver broader information about risks. Information disseminated through the system could not only include details of hazards, but also long-term adaptation options, general education, and health information, thus increasingly both capabilities and response options.

Debris flow early warning systems in Norway: organization and tools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleivane, I.; Colleuille, H.; Haugen, L. E.; Alve Glad, P.; Devoli, G.

2012-04-01

In Norway, shallow slides and debris flows occur as a combination of high-intensity precipitation, snowmelt, high groundwater level and saturated soil. Many events have occurred in the last decades and are often associated with (or related to) floods events, especially in the Southern of Norway, causing significant damages to roads, railway lines, buildings, and other infrastructures (i.e November 2000; August 2003; September 2005; November 2005; Mai 2008; June and Desember 2011). Since 1989 the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) has had an operational 24 hour flood forecasting system for the entire country. From 2009 NVE is also responsible to assist regions and municipalities in the prevention of disasters posed by landslides and snow avalanches. Besides assisting the municipalities through implementation of digital landslides inventories, susceptibility and hazard mapping, areal planning, preparation of guidelines, realization of mitigation measures and helping during emergencies, NVE is developing a regional scale debris flow warning system that use hydrological models that are already available in the flood warning systems. It is well known that the application of rainfall thresholds is not sufficient to evaluate the hazard for debris flows and shallow slides, and soil moisture conditions play a crucial role in the triggering conditions. The information on simulated soil and groundwater conditions and water supply (rain and snowmelt) based on weather forecast, have proved to be useful variables that indicate the potential occurrence of debris flows and shallow slides. Forecasts of runoff and freezing-thawing are also valuable information. The early warning system is using real-time measurements (Discharge; Groundwater level; Soil water content and soil temperature; Snow water equivalent; Meteorological data) and model simulations (a spatially distributed version of the HBV-model and an adapted version of 1-D soil water and energy balance model COUP). The data are presented in a web- and GIS-based system with daily nationwide maps showing the meteorological and hydrological conditions for the present and the near future from quantitative weather prognosis. In addition a division of the country in homogenous debris flow-prone regions is also under progress based on geomorfological, topographic parameters and loose quaternary deposits distribution. Threshold-levels are being investigated by using statistical analyses of historical debris flows events and measured hydro-meteorological parameters. The debris flow early warning system is currently being tested and is expected to be operational in 2013. Final products will be warning messages and a map showing the different hazard levels, from low to high, indicating the landslide probability and the type of expected damages in a certain area. Many activities are realized in strong collaboration with the road and railway authorities, the geological survey and private consultant companies.

Alaskan Air Defense and Early Warning Systems Clear Air ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Alaskan Air Defense and Early Warning Systems - Clear Air Force Station, Ballistic Missile Early Warning System Site II, One mile west of mile marker 293.5 on Parks Highway, 5 miles southwest of Anderson, Anderson, Denali Borough, AK

Effectiveness of a Forward Collision Warning System in simple and in dual task from an electrophysiological perspective.

PubMed

Bueno, Mercedes; Fort, Alexandra; Francois, Mathilde; Ndiaye, Daniel; Deleurence, Philippe; Fabrigoule, Colette

2013-04-29

Forward Collision Warning Systems (FCWS) are expected to assist drivers; however, it is not completely clear whether these systems are of benefit to distracted drivers as much as they are to undistracted drivers. This study aims at investigating further the analysis of the effectiveness of a surrogate FCWS according to the attentional state of participants. In this experiment electrophysiological and behavioural data were recording while participants were required to drive in a simple car simulator and to react to the braking of the lead vehicle which could be announced by a warning system. The effectiveness of this warning system was evaluated when drivers were distracted or not by a secondary cognitive task. In a previous study, the warning signal was not completely effective likely due to the presence of another predictor of the forthcoming braking which competes with the warning. By eliminating this secondary predictor in the present study, the results confirmed the negative effect of the secondary task and revealed the expected effectiveness of the warning system at behavioural and electrophysiological levels. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Implementing the national AIGA flash flood warning system in France

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Organde, Didier; Javelle, Pierre; Demargne, Julie; Arnaud, Patrick; Caseri, Angelica; Fine, Jean-Alain; de Saint Aubin, Céline

2015-04-01

The French national hydro-meteorological and flood forecasting centre (SCHAPI) aims to implement a national flash flood warning system to improve flood alerts for small-to-medium (up to 1000 km2) ungauged basins. This system is based on the AIGA method, co-developed by IRSTEA these last 10 years. The method, initially set up for the Mediterranean area, is based on a simple event-based hourly hydrologic distributed model run every 15 minutes (Javelle et al. 2014). The hydrologic model ingests operational radar-gauge rainfall grids from Météo-France at a 1-km² resolution to produce discharges for successive outlets along the river network. Discharges are then compared to regionalized flood quantiles of given return periods and warnings (expressed as the range of the return period estimated in real-time) are provided on a river network map. The main interest of the method is to provide forecasters and emergency services with a synthetic view in real time of the ongoing flood situation, information that is especially critical in ungauged flood prone areas. In its enhanced national version, the hourly event-based distributed model is coupled to a continuous daily rainfall-runoff model which provides baseflow and a soil moisture index (for each 1-km² pixel) at the beginning of the hourly simulation. The rainfall-runoff models were calibrated on a selection of 700 French hydrometric stations with Météo-France radar-gauge reanalysis dataset for the 2002-2006 period. To estimate model parameters for ungauged basins, the 2 hydrologic models were regionalised by testing both regressions (using different catchment attributes, such as catchment area, soil type, and climate characteristic) and spatial proximity techniques (transposing parameters from neighbouring donor catchments), as well as different homogeneous hydrological areas. The most valuable regionalisation method was determined for each model through jack-knife cross-validation. The system performance was then evaluated with contingency criteria (e.g., Critical Success Index, Probability Of Detection, Success Ratio) using operational rainfall radar-gauge products from Météo-France for the 2009-2012 period. The regionalised parameters of the distributed model were finally adjusted for each homogeneous hydrological area to optimize the Heidke skill score (HSS) calculated with three levels of warnings (2-, 10- and 50-year flood quantiles). This work is currently being implemented by the SCHAPI to set up an automated national flash flood warning system by 2016. Planned improvements include developing a unique continuous model to be run at a sub-hourly timestep, discharge assimilation, as well as integrating precipitation forecasts while accounting for the main sources of forecast uncertainty. Javelle, P., Demargne, J., Defrance, D., and Arnaud, P. 2014. Evaluating flash flood warnings at ungauged locations using post-event surveys: a case study with the AIGA warning system. Hydrological Sciences Journal, DOI: 10.1080/02626667.2014.923970

Patient attitudes towards remote continuous vital signs monitoring on general surgery wards: An interview study.

PubMed

Downey, C L; Brown, J M; Jayne, D G; Randell, R

2018-06-01

Vital signs monitoring is used to identify deteriorating patients in hospital. The most common tool for vital signs monitoring is an early warning score, although emerging technologies allow for remote, continuous patient monitoring. A number of reviews have examined the impact of continuous monitoring on patient outcomes, but little is known about the patient experience. This study aims to discover what patients think of monitoring in hospital, with a particular emphasis on intermittent early warning scores versus remote continuous monitoring, in order to inform future implementations of continuous monitoring technology. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 12 surgical inpatients as part of a study testing a remote continuous monitoring device. All patients were monitored with both an early warning score and the new device. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Patients can see the value in remote, continuous monitoring, particularly overnight. However, patients appreciate the face-to-face aspect of early warning score monitoring as it allows for reassurance, social interaction, and gives them further opportunity to ask questions about their medical care. Early warning score systems are widely used to facilitate detection of the deteriorating patient. Continuous monitoring technologies may provide added reassurance. However, patients value personal contact with their healthcare professionals and remote monitoring should not replace this. We suggest that remote monitoring is best introduced in a phased manner, and initially as an adjunct to usual care, with careful consideration of the patient experience throughout. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Walk through TRIDEC's intermediate Tsunami Early Warning System for the Turkish and Portuguese NEAMWave12 exercise tsunami scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammitzsch, Martin; Lendholt, Matthias; Reißland, Sven; Schulz, Jana

2013-04-01

On November 27-28, 2012, the Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute (KOERI) and the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) joined other countries in the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Connected Seas (NEAM) region as participants in an international tsunami response exercise. The exercise, titled NEAMWave12, simulated widespread Tsunami Watch situations throughout the NEAM region. It is the first international exercise as such, in this region, where the UNESCO-IOC ICG/NEAMTWS tsunami warning chain has been tested to a full scale for the first time with different systems. One of the systems is developed in the project Collaborative, Complex, and Critical Decision-Support in Evolving Crises (TRIDEC) and has been validated in this exercise among others by KOERI and IPMA. In TRIDEC new developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are used to extend the existing platform realising a component-based technology framework for building distributed tsunami warning systems for deployment, e.g. in the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Connected Seas (NEAM) region. The TRIDEC system will be implemented in three phases, each with a demonstrator. Successively, the demonstrators are addressing related challenges. The first and second phase system demonstrator, deployed at KOERI's crisis management room and deployed at IPMA has been designed and implemented, firstly, to support plausible scenarios for the Turkish NTWC and for the Portuguese NTWC to demonstrate the treatment of simulated tsunami threats with an essential subset of a NTWC. Secondly, the feasibility and the potentials of the implemented approach are demonstrated covering ICG/NEAMTWS standard operations as well as tsunami detection and alerting functions beyond ICG/NEAMTWS requirements. The demonstrator presented addresses information management and decision-support processes for hypothetical tsunami-related crisis situations in the context of the ICG/NEAMTWS NEAMWave12 exercise for the Turkish and Portuguese tsunami exercise scenarios. Impressions gained with the standards compliant TRIDEC system during the exercise will be reported. The system version presented is based on event-driven architecture (EDA) and service-oriented architecture (SOA) concepts and is making use of relevant standards of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS). In this way the system continuously gathers, processes and displays events and data coming from open sensor platforms to enable operators to quickly decide whether an early warning is necessary and to send personalized warning messages to the authorities and the population at large through a wide range of communication channels. The system integrates OGC Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) compliant sensor systems for the rapid detection of hazardous events, like earthquakes, sea level anomalies, ocean floor occurrences, and ground displacements. Using OGC Web Map Service (WMS) and Web Feature Service (WFS) spatial data are utilized to depict the situation picture. The integration of a simulation system to identify affected areas is considered using the OGC Web Processing Service (WPS). Warning messages are compiled and transmitted in the OASIS Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) together with addressing information defined via the OASIS Emergency Data Exchange Language - Distribution Element (EDXL-DE). This demonstration is linked with the talk 'Experiences with TRIDEC's Crisis Management Demonstrator in the Turkish NEAMWave12 exercise tsunami scenario' (EGU2013-2833) given in the session "Architecture of Future Tsunami Warning Systems" (NH5.6).

Preliminary Report Summarizes Tsunami Impacts and Lessons Learned from the September 7, 2017, M8.1 Tehuantepec Earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, R. I.; Ramirez-Herrera, M. T.; Dengler, L. A.; Miller, K.; LaDuke, Y.

2017-12-01

The preliminary tsunami impacts from the September 7, 2017, M8.1 Tehuantepec Earthquake have been summarized in the following report: https://www.eeri.org/wp-content/uploads/EERI-Recon-Rpt-090717-Mexico-tsunami_fn.pdf. Although the tsunami impacts were not as significant as those from the earthquake itself (98 fatalities and 41,000 homes damaged), the following are highlights and lessons learned: The Tehuantepec earthquake was one of the largest down-slab normal faulting events ever recorded. This situation complicated the tsunami forecast since forecast methods and pre-event modeling are primarily associated with megathrust earthquakes where the most significant tsunamis are generated. Adding non-megathrust source modeling to the tsunami forecast databases of conventional warning systems should be considered. Offshore seismic and tsunami hazard analyses using past events should incorporate the potential for large earthquakes occurring along sources other than the megathrust boundary. From an engineering perspective, initial reports indicate there was only minor tsunami damage along the Mexico coast. There was damage to Marina Chiapas where floating docks overtopped their piles. Increasing pile heights could reduce the potential for damage to floating docks. Tsunami warning notifications did not get to the public in time to assist with evacuation. Streamlining the messaging in Mexico from the warning system directly to the public should be considered. And, for local events, preparedness efforts should place emphasis on responding to feeling the earthquake and not waiting to be notified. Although the U.S. tsunami warning centers were timely with their international and domestic messaging, there were some issues with how those messages were presented and interpreted. The use of a "Tsunami Threat" banner on the new main warning center website created confusion with emergency managers in the U.S. where no tsunami threat was expected to exist. Also, some U.S. states and territories in the Pacific were listed in both domestic and international messages, which caused confusion for American Samoa where these messages contained somewhat conflicting information. These issues are being addressed by the warning centers and the U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program.

Coupling Radar Rainfall Estimation and Hydrological Modelling For Flash-flood Hazard Mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borga, M.; Creutin, J. D.

Flood risk mitigation is accomplished through managing either or both the hazard and vulnerability. Flood hazard may be reduced through structural measures which alter the frequency of flood levels in the area. The vulnerability of a community to flood loss can be mitigated through changing or regulating land use and through flood warning and effective emergency response. When dealing with flash-flood hazard, it is gener- ally accepted that the most effective way (and in many instances the only affordable in a sustainable perspective) to mitigate the risk is by reducing the vulnerability of the involved communities, in particular by implementing flood warning systems and community self-help programs. However, both the inherent characteristics of the at- mospheric and hydrologic processes involved in flash-flooding and the changing soci- etal needs provide a tremendous challenge to traditional flood forecasting and warning concepts. In fact, the targets of these systems are traditionally localised like urbanised sectors or hydraulic structures. Given the small spatial scale that characterises flash floods and the development of dispersed urbanisation, transportation, green tourism and water sports, human lives and property are exposed to flash flood risk in a scat- tered manner. This must be taken into consideration in flash flood warning strategies and the investigated region should be considered as a whole and every section of the drainage network as a potential target for hydrological warnings. Radar technology offers the potential to provide information describing rain intensities almost contin- uously in time and space. Recent research results indicate that coupling radar infor- mation to distributed hydrologic modelling can provide hydrologic forecasts at all potentially flooded points of a region. Nevertheless, very few flood warning services use radar data more than on a qualitative basis. After a short review of current under- standing in this area, two issues are examined: advantages and caveats of using radar rainfall estimates in operational flash flood forecasting, methodological problems as- sociated to the use of hydrological models for distributed flash flood forecasting with rainfall input estimated from radar.

Educating and Preparing for Tsunamis in the Caribbean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

von Hillebrandt-Andrade, C.; Aliaga, B.; Edwards, S.

2013-12-01

The Caribbean and Adjacent Regions has a long history of tsunamis and earthquakes. Over the past 500 years, more than 75 tsunamis have been documented in the region by the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center. Just since 1842, 3446 lives have been lost to tsunamis; this is more than in the Northeastern Pacific for the same time period. With a population of almost 160 million, over 40 million visitors a year and a heavy concentration of residents, tourists, businesses and critical infrastructure along its shores (especially in the northern and eastern Caribbean), the risk to lives and livelihoods is greater than ever before. The only way to survive a tsunami is to get out of harm's way before the waves strike. In the Caribbean given the relatively short distances from faults, potential submarine landslides and volcanoes to some of the coastlines, the tsunamis are likely to be short fused, so it is imperative that tsunami warnings be issued extremely quickly and people be educated on how to recognize and respond. Nevertheless, given that tsunamis occur infrequently as compared with hurricanes, it is a challenge for them to receive the priority they require in order to save lives when the next one strikes the region. Close cooperation among countries and territories is required for warning, but also for education and public awareness. Geographical vicinity and spoken languages need to be factored in when developing tsunami preparedness in the Caribbean, to make sure citizens receive a clear, reliable and sound science based message about the hazard and the risk. In 2006, in the wake of the Indian Ocean tsunami and after advocating without success for a Caribbean Tsunami Warning System since the mid 90's, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO established the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (CARIBE EWS). Its purpose is to advance an end to end tsunami warning system that serves regionally and delivers locally, saving lives and livelihoods, not only from tsunamis, but all coastal hazards. Through this and other platforms, physical and social scientists, emergency managers and elected officials have been working together via different mechanisms. Community based recognition programs, like the TsunamiReadyTM Program, regional tsunami exercises, sub-regional public education activities such as the Tsunami Smart campaigns, internet technologies, social media, meetings and conferences, identification of local and national champions, capitalization of news breaking tsunamis and earthquakes, economic resources for equipment and training have all been key to developing a tsunami safer Caribbean. Given these efforts, according to a 2013 survey, 93% of the countries covered by CARIBE EWS have tsunami response protocols in place, although much more work is required. In 2010 the US National Weather Service established the Caribbean Tsunami Warning Program as the first step towards a Caribbean Tsunami Warning Center in the region. In 2013 the Caribbean Tsunami Information Center was established in Barbados. Both these institutions which serve the region play a key role for promoting both the warning and educational components of the warning system.

Advancing Tobacco Product Warning Labels Research Methods and Theory: A Summary of a Grantee Meeting Held by the US National Cancer Institute.

PubMed

Thrasher, James F; Brewer, Noel T; Niederdeppe, Jeff; Peters, Ellen; Strasser, Andrew A; Grana, Rachel; Kaufman, Annette R

2018-02-10

The World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control recommends prominent pictorial health warnings on tobacco products. To advance research methods, theory and understanding of how tobacco product warning labels (TPWLs) work, the US National Cancer Institute convened a grantee meeting. Our article describes the key insights that emerged from the meeting, situated within the context of the scientific literature. First, presentations confirmed that large, pictorial TPWLs motivate people to try to quit and encourage smoking cessation. Second, pictorial TPWLs increase attention, knowledge, negative affect, and thinking about the warning. Third, TPWL studies have primarily used brief-exposure laboratory studies and observational studies of sustained exposure through national policy implementation, with a few randomized trials involving several weeks of exposure-with generally consistent results found across study designs. Fourth, novel assessment methods include brain imaging, eye tracking and "best-worst" discrete choice experiments. To make TPWL even more effective, research is needed to confirm the mechanisms of their influence, their impact across vulnerable populations, and their effect on social media posts about tobacco products. Research is also needed on the effect of trial design choices, the predictive validity of new measurement approaches, and warning labels for non-cigarette tobacco products. To improve scientific understanding of TPWL effects, this grantee meeting summary describes emerging research methods, theory and study results. Directions for future research include examination of the mechanisms of how warning labels work across diverse tobacco products and across different populations and contexts. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 2018. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.

30 CFR 75.1103-4 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; installation; minimum requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-4 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; installation; minimum requirements. (a) Effective December 31, 2009, automatic fire sensor and warning device...

30 CFR 75.1103-4 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; installation; minimum requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-4 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; installation; minimum requirements. (a) Effective December 31, 2009, automatic fire sensor and warning device...

14 CFR 121.360 - Ground proximity warning-glide slope deviation alerting system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... person may operate a turbine-powered airplane unless it is equipped with a ground proximity warning... system incorporates a Mode 4 flap warning inhibition control; and (2) An outline of all input sources... turbine-powered airplane unless it is equipped with a ground proximity warning/glide slope deviation...

14 CFR 121.360 - Ground proximity warning-glide slope deviation alerting system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... person may operate a turbine-powered airplane unless it is equipped with a ground proximity warning... system incorporates a Mode 4 flap warning inhibition control; and (2) An outline of all input sources... turbine-powered airplane unless it is equipped with a ground proximity warning/glide slope deviation...

An operational procedure for rapid flood risk assessment in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dottori, Francesco; Kalas, Milan; Salamon, Peter; Bianchi, Alessandra; Alfieri, Lorenzo; Feyen, Luc

2017-07-01

The development of methods for rapid flood mapping and risk assessment is a key step to increase the usefulness of flood early warning systems and is crucial for effective emergency response and flood impact mitigation. Currently, flood early warning systems rarely include real-time components to assess potential impacts generated by forecasted flood events. To overcome this limitation, this study describes the benchmarking of an operational procedure for rapid flood risk assessment based on predictions issued by the European Flood Awareness System (EFAS). Daily streamflow forecasts produced for major European river networks are translated into event-based flood hazard maps using a large map catalogue derived from high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations. Flood hazard maps are then combined with exposure and vulnerability information, and the impacts of the forecasted flood events are evaluated in terms of flood-prone areas, economic damage and affected population, infrastructures and cities.An extensive testing of the operational procedure has been carried out by analysing the catastrophic floods of May 2014 in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia. The reliability of the flood mapping methodology is tested against satellite-based and report-based flood extent data, while modelled estimates of economic damage and affected population are compared against ground-based estimations. Finally, we evaluate the skill of risk estimates derived from EFAS flood forecasts with different lead times and combinations of probabilistic forecasts. Results highlight the potential of the real-time operational procedure in helping emergency response and management.

Urban flood early warning systems: approaches to hydrometeorological forecasting and communicating risk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cranston, Michael; Speight, Linda; Maxey, Richard; Tavendale, Amy; Buchanan, Peter

2015-04-01

One of the main challenges for the flood forecasting community remains the provision of reliable early warnings of surface (or pluvial) flooding. The Scottish Flood Forecasting Service has been developing approaches for forecasting the risk of surface water flooding including capitalising on the latest developments in quantitative precipitation forecasting from the Met Office. A probabilistic Heavy Rainfall Alert decision support tool helps operational forecasters assess the likelihood of surface water flooding against regional rainfall depth-duration estimates from MOGREPS-UK linked to historical short-duration flooding in Scotland. The surface water flood risk is communicated through the daily Flood Guidance Statement to emergency responders. A more recent development is an innovative risk-based hydrometeorological approach that links 24-hour ensemble rainfall forecasts through a hydrological model (Grid-to-Grid) to a library of impact assessments (Speight et al., 2015). The early warning tool - FEWS Glasgow - presents the risk of flooding to people, property and transport across a 1km grid over the city of Glasgow with a lead time of 24 hours. Communication of the risk was presented in a bespoke surface water flood forecast product designed based on emergency responder requirements and trialled during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The development of new approaches to surface water flood forecasting are leading to improved methods of communicating the risk and better performance in early warning with a reduction in false alarm rates with summer flood guidance in 2014 (67%) compared to 2013 (81%) - although verification of instances of surface water flooding remains difficult. However the introduction of more demanding hydrometeorological capabilities with associated greater levels of uncertainty does lead to an increased demand on operational flood forecasting skills and resources. Speight, L., Cole, S.J., Moore, R.J., Pierce, C., Wright, B., Golding, B., Cranston, M., Tavendale, A., Ghimire, S., and Dhondia, J. (2015) Developing surface water flood forecasting capabilities in Scotland: an operational pilot for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Journal of Flood Risk Management, In Press.

Volvo and Infiniti drivers' experiences with select crash avoidance technologies.

PubMed

Braitman, Keli A; McCartt, Anne T; Zuby, David S; Singer, Jeremiah

2010-06-01

Vehicle-based crash avoidance systems can potentially reduce crashes, but success depends on driver acceptance and understanding. This study gauged driver use, experience, and acceptance among early adopters of select technologies. Telephone interviews were conducted in early 2009 with 380 owners of Volvo vehicles equipped with forward collision warning with autobrake, lane departure warning, side-view assist, and/or active bi-xenon headlights and 485 owners of Infiniti vehicles with lane departure warning/prevention. Most owners kept systems turned on most of the time, especially forward collision warning with autobrake and side-view assist. The exception was lane departure prevention; many owners were unaware they had it, and the system must be activated each time the vehicle is started. Most owners reported being safer with the technologies and would want them again on their next vehicles. Perceived false or unnecessary warnings were fairly common, particularly with side-view assist. Some systems were annoying, especially lane departure warning. Many owners reported safer driving behaviors such as greater use of turn signals (lane departure warning), increased following distance (forward collision warning), and checking side mirrors more frequently (side-view assist), but some reported driving faster at night (active headlights). Despite some unnecessary or annoying warnings, most Volvo and Infiniti owners use crash avoidance systems most of the time. Among early adopters, the first requirement of effective warning systems (that owners use the technology) seems largely met. Systems requiring activation by drivers for each trip are used less often. Owner experience with the latest technologies from other automobile manufacturers should be studied, as well as for vehicles on which technologies are standard (versus optional) equipment. The effectiveness of technologies in preventing and mitigating crashes and injuries, and user acceptance of interfaces, should be examined as more vehicles with advanced technologies penetrate the fleet.

Hospital emergency department visits for carbon monoxide poisoning following an October 2006 snowstorm in western New York.

PubMed

Muscatiello, Neil A; Babcock, Gwen; Jones, Rena; Horn, Edward; Hwang, Syni-An

2010-01-01

Following an October 2006 snowstorm that caused widespread power outages in western New York State, hospital emergency department (ED) visits for carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning increased. Overall, 264 people representing 155 households were diagnosed with CO poisoning during the power outages. Telephone interviews were conducted with a subset of these individuals. Respondents provided information about exposure sources, CO alarms, and awareness of CO warnings. In many households, portable generators were operated in an enclosed area. Awareness of CO warnings may have contributed to knowledge about locating portable generators outside. When operated outside, however, portable generators were generally located too close to the home. Gas kitchen ranges were used for heat by numerous households. In the short term, CO education and improved clarity of CO warning information is important for increasing awareness about power outage-related CO risks. Improvements in the combustion efficiency of portable generators should be a long-term goal.

Tsunami Detection Systems for International Requirements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawson, R. A.

2007-12-01

Results are presented regarding the first commercially available, fully operational, tsunami detection system to have passed stringent U.S. government testing requirements and to have successfully demonstrated its ability to detect an actual tsunami at sea. Spurred by the devastation of the December 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people, the private sector actively supported the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission's (IOC"s) efforts to develop a tsunami warning system and mitigation plan for the Indian Ocean region. As each country in the region developed its requirements, SAIC recognized that many of these underdeveloped countries would need significant technical assistance to fully execute their plans. With the original focus on data fusion, consequence assessment tools, and warning center architecture, it was quickly realized that the cornerstone of any tsunami warning system would be reliable tsunami detection buoys that could meet very stringent operational standards. Our goal was to leverage extensive experience in underwater surveillance and oceanographic sensing to produce an enhanced and reliable deep water sensor that could meet emerging international requirements. Like the NOAA Deep-ocean Assessment and Recording of Tsunamis (DART TM ) buoy, the SAIC Tsunami Buoy (STB) system consists of three subsystems: a surfaccommunications buoy subsystem, a bottom pressure recorder subsystem, and a buoy mooring subsystem. With the operational success that DART has demonstrated, SAIC decided to build and test to the same high standards. The tsunami detection buoy system measures small changes in the depth of the deep ocean caused by tsunami waves as they propagate past the sensor. This is accomplished by using an extremely sensitive bottom pressure sensor/recorder to measure very small changes in pressure as the waves move past the buoy system. The bottom pressure recorder component includes a processor with algorithms that recognize these characteristics, and then immediately alerts a tsunami warning center through the communications buoy when the processor senses one of these waves. In addition to the tsunami detection buoy system, an end-to-end tsunami warning system was developed that builds upon the country's existing disaster warning infrastructure. This warning system includes 1) components that receive, process, and analyze buoy, seismic and tide gauge data; 2) predictive tools and a consequence assessment tool set to provide decision support; 3) operation center design and implementation; and 4) tsunami buoy operations and maintenance support. The first buoy was deployed Oct. 25, 2006, approximately 200 nautical miles west of San Diego in 3,800 meters of water. Just three weeks later, it was put to the test during an actual tsunami event. On Nov. 15, 2006, an 8.3 magnitude earthquake rocked the Kuril Islands, located between Japan and the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia. That quake generated a small tsunami. Waves from the tsunami propagated approximately 4,000 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean in about nine hours-- a speed of about 445 nautical miles per hour when this commercial buoy first detected them. Throughout that event, the tsunami buoy system showed excellent correlation with data collected by a NOAA DART buoy located 28 nautical miles north of it. Subsequent analysis revealed that the STB matched DART operational capabilities and performed flawlessly. The buoy proved its capabilities again on Jan. 13, 2007, when an 8.1 magnitude earthquake occurred in the same region, and the STB detected the seismic event. As a result of the successes of this entire project, SAIC recently applied for and received a license from NOAA to build DART systems.

A Sustainable Early Warning System for Climate Change Impacts on Water Quality Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, T.; Tung, C.; Chung, N.

2007-12-01

In this era of rapid social and technological change leading to interesting life complexity and environmental displacement, both positive and negative effects among ecosystems call for a balance in which there are impacts by climate changes. Early warning systems for climate change impacts are necessary in order to allow society as a whole to properly and usefully assimilate the masses of new information and knowledge. Therefore, our research addresses to build up a sustainable early warning mechanism. The main goal is to mitigate the cumulative impacts on the environment of climate change and enhance adaptive capacities. An effective early warning system has been proven for protection. However, there is a problem that estimate future climate changes would be faced with high uncertainty. In general, take estimations for climate change impacts would use the data from General Circulation Models and take the analysis as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change declared. We follow the course of the method for analyzing climate change impacts and attempt to accomplish the sustainable early warning system for water quality management. Climate changes impact not only on individual situation but on short-term variation and long-term gradually changes. This kind characteristic should adopt the suitable warning system for long-term formulation and short- term operation. To continue the on-going research of the long-term early warning system for climate change impacts on water quality management, the short-term early warning system is established by using local observation data for reappraising the warning issue. The combination of long-term and short-term system can provide more circumstantial details. In Taiwan, a number of studies have revealed that climate change impacts on water quality, especially in arid period, the concentration of biological oxygen demand may turn into worse. Rapid population growth would also inflict injury on its assimilative capacity to degenerate. To concern about those items, the sustainable early warning system is established and the initiative fall into the following categories: considering the implications for policies, applying adaptive strategies and informing the new climate changes. By setting up the framework of early warning system expectantly can defend stream area from impacts damaging and in sure the sustainable development.

49 CFR 234.205 - Operating characteristics of warning system apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... apparatus. 234.205 Section 234.205 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued... characteristics of warning system apparatus. Operating characteristics of electromagnetic, electronic, or electrical apparatus of each highway-rail crossing warning system shall be maintained in accordance with the...

49 CFR 234.205 - Operating characteristics of warning system apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... apparatus. 234.205 Section 234.205 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued... characteristics of warning system apparatus. Operating characteristics of electromagnetic, electronic, or electrical apparatus of each highway-rail crossing warning system shall be maintained in accordance with the...

Is More Better? - Night Vision Enhancement System's Pedestrian Warning Modes and Older Drivers.

PubMed

Brown, Timothy; He, Yefei; Roe, Cheryl; Schnell, Thomas

2010-01-01

Pedestrian fatalities as a result of vehicle collisions are much more likely to happen at night than during day time. Poor visibility due to darkness is believed to be one of the causes for the higher vehicle collision rate at night. Existing studies have shown that night vision enhancement systems (NVES) may improve recognition distance, but may increase drivers' workload. The use of automatic warnings (AW) may help minimize workload, improve performance, and increase safety. In this study, we used a driving simulator to examine performance differences of a NVES with six different configurations of warning cues, including: visual, auditory, tactile, auditory and visual, tactile and visual, and no warning. Older drivers between the ages of 65 and 74 participated in the study. An analysis based on the distance to pedestrian threat at the onset of braking response revealed that tactile and auditory warnings performed the best, while visual warnings performed the worst. When tactile or auditory warnings were presented in combination with visual warning, their effectiveness decreased. This result demonstrated that, contrary to general sense regarding warning systems, multi-modal warnings involving visual cues degraded the effectiveness of NVES for older drivers.

Time-to-impact estimation in passive missile warning systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Şahıngıl, Mehmet Cihan

2017-05-01

A missile warning system can detect the incoming missile threat(s) and automatically cue the other Electronic Attack (EA) systems in the suit, such as Directed Infrared Counter Measure (DIRCM) system and/or Counter Measure Dispensing System (CMDS). Most missile warning systems are currently based on passive sensor technology operating in either Solar Blind Ultraviolet (SBUV) or Midwave Infrared (MWIR) bands on which there is an intensive emission from the exhaust plume of the threatening missile. Although passive missile warning systems have some clear advantages over pulse-Doppler radar (PDR) based active missile warning systems, they show poorer performance in terms of time-to-impact (TTI) estimation which is critical for optimizing the countermeasures and also "passive kill assessment". In this paper, we consider this problem, namely, TTI estimation from passive measurements and present a TTI estimation scheme which can be used in passive missile warning systems. Our problem formulation is based on Extended Kalman Filter (EKF). The algorithm uses the area parameter of the threat plume which is derived from the used image frame.

Preparing for Emergencies: A Checklist for People with Neuromuscular Diseases

MedlinePlus

TORNADO • FLASH FLOOD • EARTHQUAKE • WINTER STORM • HURRICANE • FIRE • HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SPILL Preparing for Emergencies A Checklist for ... head for a basement when there is a tornado warning, but most basements aren’t wheelchair-accessible. ...

HIV Drug Resistance Early Warning Indicators in Namibia for Public Health Action

PubMed Central

Jonas, Anna; Gweshe, Justice; Siboleka, Milner; DeKlerk, Michael; Gawanab, Michael; Badi, Alfons; Sumbi, Victor; Pereko, Dawn; Blom, Abraham; Mwinga, Samson; Jordan, Michael R.; Jerger, Logan; Lau, Kiger; Hong, Steven Y.

2013-01-01

Background HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) testing is not routinely available in many resource-limited settings, therefore antiretroviral therapy (ART) program and site factors known to be associated with emergence of HIVDR should be monitored to optimize the quality of patient care and minimize the emergence of preventable HIVDR. Methods In 2010, Namibia selected five World Health Organization Early Warning Indicators (EWIs) and scaled-up monitoring from 9 to 33 ART sites: ART prescribing practices, Patients lost to follow-up (LTFU) at 12 months, Patients switched to a second-line regimen at 12 months, On-time antiretroviral (ARV) drug pick-up, and ARV drug-supply continuity. Results Records allowed reporting on three of the five selected EWIs. 22 of 33 (67%) sites met the target of 100% initiated on appropriate first-line regimens. 17 of 33 (52%) sites met the target of ≤20% LTFU. 15 of 33 (45%) sites met the target of 0% switched to a second-line regimen. Conclusions EWI monitoring directly resulted in public health action which will optimize the quality of care, specifically the strengthening of ART record systems, engagement of ART sites, and operational research for improved adherence assessment and ART patient defaulter tracing. PMID:23762406

Air quality early-warning system for cities in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Yunzhen; Yang, Wendong; Wang, Jianzhou

2017-01-01

Air pollution has become a serious issue in many developing countries, especially in China, and could generate adverse effects on human beings. Air quality early-warning systems play an increasingly significant role in regulatory plans that reduce and control emissions of air pollutants and inform the public in advance when harmful air pollution is foreseen. However, building a robust early-warning system that will improve the ability of early-warning is not only a challenge but also a critical issue for the entire society. Relevant research is still poor in China and cannot always satisfy the growing requirements of regulatory planning, despite the issue's significance. Therefore, in this paper, a hybrid air quality early-warning system was successfully developed, composed of forecasting and evaluation. First, a hybrid forecasting model was proposed as an important part of this system based on the theory of "decomposition and ensemble" and combined with the advanced data processing technique, support vector machine, the latest bio-inspired optimization algorithm and the leave-one-out strategy for deciding weights. Afterwards, to intensify the research, fuzzy evaluation was performed, which also plays an indispensable role in the early-warning system. The forecasting model and fuzzy evaluation approaches are complementary. Case studies using daily air pollution concentrations of six air pollutants from three cities in China (i.e., Taiyuan, Harbin and Chongqing) are used as examples to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the developed air quality early-warning system. Experimental results demonstrate that both the accuracy and the effectiveness of the developed system are greatly superior for air quality early warning. Furthermore, the application of forecasting and evaluation enables the informative and effective quantification of future air quality, offering a significant advantage, and can be employed to develop rapid air quality early-warning systems.

Global dynamics of a mathematical model for the possible re-emergence of polio.

PubMed

Dénes, Attila; Székely, László

2017-11-01

Motivated by studies warning about a possible re-emergence of poliomyelitis in Europe, we analyse a compartmental model for the transmission of polio describing the possible effect of unvaccinated people arriving to a region with low vaccination coverage. We calculate the basic reproduction number, and determine the global dynamics of the system: we show that, depending on the parameters, one of the two equilibria is globally asymptotically stable. The main tools applied are Lyapunov functions and persistence theory. We illustrate the analytic results by numerical examples, which also suggest that in order to avoid the risk of polio re-emergence, vaccinating the immigrant population might result insufficient, and also the vaccination coverage of countries with low rates should be increased. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[New international initiatives to create systems of effective risk prediction and food safety].

PubMed

Efimochkinal, N R; Bagryantseva, E C; Dupouy, E C; Khotimchenko, S A; Permyakov, E V; Sheveleva, S A; Arnautov, O V

2016-01-01

Ensuring food safety is one of the most important problems that is directly related to health protection of the population. The problem is particularly relevant on aglobalscale because ofincreasingnumberoffood-borne diseases andimportance of the health consequence early detection. In accordance with the position of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, food safety concept also includes quality. In this case, creation of the national, supranational and international early warning systems related to the food safety, designed with the purpose to prevent or minimize risks on different stages of the food value chain in various countries, regions and climate zones specific to national nutrition and lifestyle in different groups of population, gains particular importance. The article describes the principles and working examples of international, supranational and national food safety early warning systems. Great importance is given to the hazards of microbial origin - emergent pathogens. Example of the rapid reaction to the appearance of cases, related to the melanin presence in infant formula, are presented. Analysis of the current food safety and quality control system in Russian Federation shows that main improvements are mostly related to the development of the efficient monitoring, diagnostics and rapid alert procedures forfood safety on interregional and international levels that will allow to estimate real contamination of food with the most dangerous pathogens, chemical and biological contaminants, and the development of the electronic database and scientifically proved algorithms for food safety and quality management for targeted prevention activities against existing and emerging microbiological and other etiology risks, and public health protection.

75 FR 48620 - Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing Company Model 737-100, -200, -200C, -300, -400, and -500...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-11

... operations. This proposed AD results from a design change in the cabin altitude warning system that would... warning system that would address the identified unsafe condition(s), and that once this design change was... altitude warning and takeoff configuration warning lights. The activation includes changing the wiring in...

A Drought Early Warning System Using System Dynamics Model and Seasonal Climate Forecasts: a case study in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tien, Yu-Chuan; Tung, Ching-Ping; Liu, Tzu-Ming; Lin, Chia-Yu

2016-04-01

In the last twenty years, Hsinchu, a county of Taiwan, has experienced a tremendous growth in water demand due to the development of Hsinchu Science Park. In order to fulfill the water demand, the government has built the new reservoir, Baoshan second reservoir. However, short term droughts still happen. One of the reasons is that the water level of the reservoirs in Hsinchu cannot be reasonably forecasted, which sometimes even underestimates the severity of drought. The purpose of this study is to build a drought early warning system that projects the water levels of two important reservoirs, Baoshan and Baoshan second reservoir, and also the spatial distribution of water shortagewith the lead time of three months. Furthermore, this study also attempts to assist the government to improve water resources management. Hence, a system dynamics model of Touchien River, which is the most important river for public water supply in Hsinchu, is developed. The model consists of several important subsystems, including two reservoirs, water treatment plants and agricultural irrigation districts. Using the upstream flow generated by seasonal weather forecasting data, the model is able to simulate the storage of the two reservoirs and the distribution of water shortage. Moreover, the model can also provide the information under certain emergency scenarios, such as the accident or failure of a water treatment plant. At last, the performance of the proposed method and the original water resource management method that the government used were also compared. Keyword: Water Resource Management, Hydrology, Seasonal Climate Forecast, Reservoir, Early Warning, Drought

A Mixed Methods Approach to Identify Cognitive Warning Signs for Suicide Attempts.

PubMed

Adler, Abby; Bush, Ashley; Barg, Frances K; Weissinger, Guy; Beck, Aaron T; Brown, Gregory K

2016-01-01

This study used a mixed methods approach to examine pathways to suicidal behavior by identifying cognitive warning signs that occurred within 1 day of a suicide attempt. Transcripts of cognitive therapy sessions from 35 patients who attempted suicide were analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach. Cognitive themes emerging from these transcripts included: state hopelessness, focus on escape, suicide as a solution, fixation on suicide, and aloneness. Differences in demographic and baseline diagnostic and symptom data were explored in relation to each cognitive theme. We propose a potential conceptual model of cognitive warning signs for suicide attempts that requires further testing.

Application of a Tsunami Warning Message Metric to refine NOAA NWS Tsunami Warning Messages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gregg, C. E.; Johnston, D.; Sorensen, J.; Whitmore, P.

2013-12-01

In 2010, the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) funded a three year project to integrate social science into their Tsunami Program. One of three primary requirements of the grant was to make improvements to tsunami warning messages of the NWS' two Tsunami Warning Centers- the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WCATWC) in Palmer, Alaska and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. We conducted focus group meetings with a purposive sample of local, state and Federal stakeholders and emergency managers in six states (AK, WA, OR, CA, HI and NC) and two US Territories (US Virgin Islands and American Samoa) to qualitatively asses information needs in tsunami warning messages using WCATWC tsunami messages for the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami event. We also reviewed research literature on behavioral response to warnings to develop a tsunami warning message metric that could be used to guide revisions to tsunami warning messages of both warning centers. The message metric is divided into categories of Message Content, Style, Order and Formatting and Receiver Characteristics. A message is evaluated by cross-referencing the message with the operational definitions of metric factors. Findings are then used to guide revisions of the message until the characteristics of each factor are met. Using findings from this project and findings from a parallel NWS Warning Tiger Team study led by T. Nicolini, the WCATWC implemented the first of two phases of revisions to their warning messages in November 2012. A second phase of additional changes, which will fully implement the redesign of messages based on the metric, is in progress. The resulting messages will reflect current state-of-the-art knowledge on warning message effectiveness. Here we present the message metric; evidence-based rational for message factors; and examples of previous, existing and proposed messages.

Multiple Attribute Evaluation of Auditory Warning Signals for In-Vehicle Crash Avoidance Warning Systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-11-01

This research was directed at optimizing the auditory warnings that may be used in future crash avoidance warning applications. There is a need to standardize such warnings, so that they retain immediacy of meaning across various vehicles, situations...

New early warning system for gravity-driven ruptures based on codetection of acoustic signal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faillettaz, J.

2016-12-01

Gravity-driven rupture phenomena in natural media - e.g. landslide, rockfalls, snow or ice avalanches - represent an important class of natural hazards in mountainous regions. To protect the population against such events, a timely evacuation often constitutes the only effective way to secure the potentially endangered area. However, reliable prediction of imminence of such failure events remains challenging due to the nonlinear and complex nature of geological material failure hampered by inherent heterogeneity, unknown initial mechanical state, and complex load application (rainfall, temperature, etc.). Here, a simple method for real-time early warning that considers both the heterogeneity of natural media and characteristics of acoustic emissions attenuation is proposed. This new method capitalizes on codetection of elastic waves emanating from microcracks by multiple and spatially separated sensors. Event-codetection is considered as surrogate for large event size with more frequent codetected events (i.e., detected concurrently on more than one sensor) marking imminence of catastrophic failure. Simple numerical model based on a Fiber Bundle Model considering signal attenuation and hypothetical arrays of sensors confirms the early warning potential of codetection principles. Results suggest that although statistical properties of attenuated signal amplitude could lead to misleading results, monitoring the emergence of large events announcing impeding failure is possible even with attenuated signals depending on sensor network geometry and detection threshold. Preliminary application of the proposed method to acoustic emissions during failure of snow samples has confirmed the potential use of codetection as indicator for imminent failure at lab scale. The applicability of such simple and cheap early warning system is now investigated at a larger scale (hillslope). First results of such a pilot field experiment are presented and analysed.

Study on warning radius of diffuse reflection laser warning based on fish-eye lens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Bolin; Zhang, Weian

2013-09-01

The diffuse reflection type of omni-directional laser warning based on fish-eye lens is becoming more and more important. As one of the key parameters of warning system, the warning radius should be put into investigation emphatically. The paper firstly theoretically analyzes the energy detected by single pixel of FPA detector in the system under complicated environment. Then the least energy detectable by each single pixel of the system is computed in terms of detector sensitivity, system noise, and minimum SNR. Subsequently, by comparison between the energy detected by single pixel and the least detectable energy, the warning radius is deduced from Torrance-Sparrow five-parameter semiempirical statistic model. Finally, a field experiment was developed to validate the computational results. It has been found that the warning radius has a close relationship with BRDF parameters of the irradiated target, propagation distance, angle of incidence, and detector sensitivity, etc. Furthermore, an important fact is shown that the experimental values of warning radius are always less than that of theoretical ones, due to such factors as the optical aberration of fish-eye lens, the transmissivity of narrowband filter, and the packing ratio of detector.

Connected motorcycle crash warning interfaces.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-01-15

Crash warning systems have been deployed in the high-end vehicle market segment for some time and are trickling down to additional motor vehicle industry segments each year. The motorcycle segment, however, has no deployed crash warning system to dat...

Light vehicle forward-looking, rear-end collision warning system performance guidelines

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-05-01

This document presents performance guidelines for forward-looking, rear-end collision warning systems (abbreviated FCW) for improving vehicular safety by preventing or mitigating vehicular rear-end collisions through driver notification or warning. T...

Multiple Attribute Evaluation Of Auditory Warning Signals For In-Vehicle Crash Avoidance Warning Systems, Technical Report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-11-01

THIS RESEARCH WAS DIRECTED AT OPTIMIZING THE AUDITORY WARNINGS THAT MAY BE USED IN FUTURE CRASH AVOIDANCE WARNING APPLICATIONS. THERE IS A NEED TO STANDARDIZE SUCH WARNINGS, SO THAT THEY RETAIN IMMEDIACY OF MEANING ACROSS VARIOUS VEHICLES, SITUATIONS...

49 CFR 234.259 - Warning time.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... modified because of a change in train speeds. Electronic devices that accurately determine actual warning... 49 Transportation 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Warning time. 234.259 Section 234.259..., Inspection, and Testing Inspections and Tests § 234.259 Warning time. Each crossing warning system shall be...

49 CFR 234.259 - Warning time.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... modified because of a change in train speeds. Electronic devices that accurately determine actual warning... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Warning time. 234.259 Section 234.259..., Inspection, and Testing Inspections and Tests § 234.259 Warning time. Each crossing warning system shall be...

Larger and More Prominent Graphic Health Warnings on Plain-Packaged Tobacco Products and Avoidant Responses in Current Smokers: a Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Hardcastle, Sarah J; Chan, Derwin C K; Caudwell, Kim M; Sultan, Sarwat; Cranwell, Jo; Chatzisarantis, Nikos L D; Hagger, Martin S

2016-02-01

The introduction of tobacco plain packaging legislation in Australia meant that all tobacco products were to be sold in plain dark-brown packaging with 75% front-of-pack graphic health warnings and standardised font type and size for brand name and product variant. The change in the size and prominence of the warnings has been proposed as a reason for behaviour change in smokers in terms of increased intentions to quit and quit attempts. The current research examined attitudes and beliefs of cigarette smokers toward the increased size and prominence of the warnings and effects on their behaviour. Participants (N = 160) completed open-ended responses to questions on beliefs, attitudes and responses to plain packaging. Responses were subjected to inductive thematic content analysis for key themes. Four themes emerged from the analysis: emotional response to packaging, scepticism of health warnings, warnings and cessation behaviour, and avoidant coping behaviours. Participants reported increased negative emotional responses to the packaging and made specific reference to the graphic health warnings. Some participants attempted to discredit the messages. Others reported increased intentions to quit or quitting attempts. There were pervasive reports of avoidant responses including covering or hiding the warnings. Consistent with theories of illness perceptions and coping, current findings indicate that the larger, prominent graphic health warnings on plain-packaged tobacco products had pervasive effects on threat perceptions and subsequent behavioural responses. While some of the reported responses were adaptive (e.g. attempts to quit), others were maladaptive (e.g. avoiding the warnings).

78 FR 36817 - Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-19

...) accidents resulting from warning system failures can be reduced. Motorists lose faith in warning systems... greater risk of an accident is present when a warning system fails to activate as a train approaches a... device malfunctions. With this information, FRA is able to correlate accident data and equipment...

Real-Time Target Motion Animation for Missile Warning System Testing

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-04-01

T. Perkins, R. Sundberg, J. Cordell, Z. Tun , and M. Owen, Real-time Target Motion Animation for Missile Warning System Testing, Proc. SPIE Vol 6208...Z39-18 Real-time target motion animation for missile warning system testing Timothy Perkins*a, Robert Sundberga, John Cordellb, Zaw Tunb, Mark

14 CFR 91.1415 - CAMP: Mechanical reliability reports.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... failure, malfunction, or defect in an aircraft concerning— (1) Fires during flight and whether the related fire-warning system functioned properly; (2) Fires during flight not protected by related fire-warning system; (3) False fire-warning during flight; (4) An exhaust system that causes damage during flight to...

14 CFR 91.1415 - CAMP: Mechanical reliability reports.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... failure, malfunction, or defect in an aircraft concerning— (1) Fires during flight and whether the related fire-warning system functioned properly; (2) Fires during flight not protected by related fire-warning system; (3) False fire-warning during flight; (4) An exhaust system that causes damage during flight to...

How do I know if I’ve improved my continental scale flood early warning system?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cloke, Hannah L.; Pappenberger, Florian; Smith, Paul J.; Wetterhall, Fredrik

2017-04-01

Flood early warning systems mitigate damages and loss of life and are an economically efficient way of enhancing disaster resilience. The use of continental scale flood early warning systems is rapidly growing. The European Flood Awareness System (EFAS) is a pan-European flood early warning system forced by a multi-model ensemble of numerical weather predictions. Responses to scientific and technical changes can be complex in these computationally expensive continental scale systems, and improvements need to be tested by evaluating runs of the whole system. It is demonstrated here that forecast skill is not correlated with the value of warnings. In order to tell if the system has been improved an evaluation strategy is required that considers both forecast skill and warning value. The combination of a multi-forcing ensemble of EFAS flood forecasts is evaluated with a new skill-value strategy. The full multi-forcing ensemble is recommended for operational forecasting, but, there are spatial variations in the optimal forecast combination. Results indicate that optimizing forecasts based on value rather than skill alters the optimal forcing combination and the forecast performance. Also indicated is that model diversity and ensemble size are both important in achieving best overall performance. The use of several evaluation measures that consider both skill and value is strongly recommended when considering improvements to early warning systems.

Lane change warning threshold based on driver perception characteristics.

PubMed

Wang, Chang; Sun, Qinyu; Fu, Rui; Li, Zhen; Zhang, Qiong

2018-08-01

Lane Change Warning system (LCW) is exploited to alleviate driver workload and improve the safety performance of lane changes. Depending on the secure threshold, the lane change warning system could transmit caution to drivers. Although the system possesses substantial benefits, it may perturb the conventional operating of the driver and affect driver judgment if the warning threshold does not conform to the driver perception of safety. Therefore, it is essential to establish an appropriate warning threshold to enhance the accuracy rate and acceptability of the lane change warning system. This research aims to identify the threshold that conforms to the driver perception of the ability to safely change lanes with a rear vehicle fast approaching. We propose a theoretical warning model of lane change based on a safe minimum distance and deceleration of the rear vehicle. For the purpose of acquiring the different safety levels of lane changes, 30 licensed drivers are recruited and we obtain the extreme moments represented by driver perception characteristics from a Front Extremity Test and a Rear Extremity Test implemented on the freeway. The required deceleration of the rear vehicle corresponding to the extreme time is calculated according to the proposed model. In light of discrepancies in the deceleration in these extremity experiments, we determine two levels of a hierarchical warning system. The purpose of the primary warning is to remind drivers of the existence of potentially dangerous vehicles and the second warning is used to warn the driver to stop changing lanes immediately. We use the signal detection theory to analyze the data. Ultimately, we confirm that the first deceleration threshold is 1.5 m/s 2 and the second deceleration threshold is 2.7 m/s 2 . The findings provide the basis for the algorithm design of LCW and enhance the acceptability of the intelligent system. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Early warning system for Douglas-fir tussock moth outbreaks in the Western United States.

Treesearch

Gary E. Daterman; John M. Wenz; Katharine A. Sheehan

2004-01-01

The Early Warning System is a pheromone-based trapping system used to detect outbreaks of Douglas-fir tussock moth (DFTM, Orgyia pseudotsugata) in the western United States. Millions of acres are susceptible to DFTM defoliation, but Early Warning System monitoring focuses attention only on the relatively limited areas where outbreaks may be...

77 FR 19055 - Morgan Olson, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-29

... noncompliance is that the affected vehicles do not contain a primary door latch system or door closure warning... for either a primary door latch system or door closure warning system applied only to its vehicles... latched position. Nor are these vehicles equipped with a door closure warning system. Rule text: Paragraph...

On the use of Bayesian decision theory for issuing natural hazard warnings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Economou, T.; Stephenson, D. B.; Rougier, J. C.; Neal, R. A.; Mylne, K. R.

2016-10-01

Warnings for natural hazards improve societal resilience and are a good example of decision-making under uncertainty. A warning system is only useful if well defined and thus understood by stakeholders. However, most operational warning systems are heuristic: not formally or transparently defined. Bayesian decision theory provides a framework for issuing warnings under uncertainty but has not been fully exploited. Here, a decision theoretic framework is proposed for hazard warnings. The framework allows any number of warning levels and future states of nature, and a mathematical model for constructing the necessary loss functions for both generic and specific end-users is described. The approach is illustrated using one-day ahead warnings of daily severe precipitation over the UK, and compared to the current decision tool used by the UK Met Office. A probability model is proposed to predict precipitation, given ensemble forecast information, and loss functions are constructed for two generic stakeholders: an end-user and a forecaster. Results show that the Met Office tool issues fewer high-level warnings compared with our system for the generic end-user, suggesting the former may not be suitable for risk averse end-users. In addition, raw ensemble forecasts are shown to be unreliable and result in higher losses from warnings.

On the use of Bayesian decision theory for issuing natural hazard warnings.

PubMed

Economou, T; Stephenson, D B; Rougier, J C; Neal, R A; Mylne, K R

2016-10-01

Warnings for natural hazards improve societal resilience and are a good example of decision-making under uncertainty. A warning system is only useful if well defined and thus understood by stakeholders. However, most operational warning systems are heuristic: not formally or transparently defined. Bayesian decision theory provides a framework for issuing warnings under uncertainty but has not been fully exploited. Here, a decision theoretic framework is proposed for hazard warnings. The framework allows any number of warning levels and future states of nature, and a mathematical model for constructing the necessary loss functions for both generic and specific end-users is described. The approach is illustrated using one-day ahead warnings of daily severe precipitation over the UK, and compared to the current decision tool used by the UK Met Office. A probability model is proposed to predict precipitation, given ensemble forecast information, and loss functions are constructed for two generic stakeholders: an end-user and a forecaster. Results show that the Met Office tool issues fewer high-level warnings compared with our system for the generic end-user, suggesting the former may not be suitable for risk averse end-users. In addition, raw ensemble forecasts are shown to be unreliable and result in higher losses from warnings.

On the use of Bayesian decision theory for issuing natural hazard warnings

PubMed Central

Stephenson, D. B.; Rougier, J. C.; Neal, R. A.; Mylne, K. R.

2016-01-01

Warnings for natural hazards improve societal resilience and are a good example of decision-making under uncertainty. A warning system is only useful if well defined and thus understood by stakeholders. However, most operational warning systems are heuristic: not formally or transparently defined. Bayesian decision theory provides a framework for issuing warnings under uncertainty but has not been fully exploited. Here, a decision theoretic framework is proposed for hazard warnings. The framework allows any number of warning levels and future states of nature, and a mathematical model for constructing the necessary loss functions for both generic and specific end-users is described. The approach is illustrated using one-day ahead warnings of daily severe precipitation over the UK, and compared to the current decision tool used by the UK Met Office. A probability model is proposed to predict precipitation, given ensemble forecast information, and loss functions are constructed for two generic stakeholders: an end-user and a forecaster. Results show that the Met Office tool issues fewer high-level warnings compared with our system for the generic end-user, suggesting the former may not be suitable for risk averse end-users. In addition, raw ensemble forecasts are shown to be unreliable and result in higher losses from warnings. PMID:27843399

A Method to Increase Drivers' Trust in Collision Warning Systems Based on Reliability Information of Sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsutsumi, Shigeyoshi; Wada, Takahiro; Akita, Tokihiko; Doi, Shun'ichi

Driver's workload tends to be increased during driving under complicated traffic environments like a lane change. In such cases, rear collision warning is effective for reduction of cognitive workload. On the other hand, it is pointed out that false alarm or missing alarm caused by sensor errors leads to decrease of driver' s trust in the warning system and it can result in low efficiency of the system. Suppose that reliability information of the sensor is provided in real-time. In this paper, we propose a new warning method to increase driver' s trust in the system even with low sensor reliability utilizing the sensor reliability information. The effectiveness of the warning methods is shown by driving simulator experiments.

ShakeAlert—An earthquake early warning system for the United States west coast

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burkett, Erin R.; Given, Douglas D.; Jones, Lucile M.

2014-08-29

Earthquake early warning systems use earthquake science and the technology of monitoring systems to alert devices and people when shaking waves generated by an earthquake are expected to arrive at their location. The seconds to minutes of advance warning can allow people and systems to take actions to protect life and property from destructive shaking. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with several partners, has been working to develop an early warning system for the United States. ShakeAlert, a system currently under development, is designed to cover the West Coast States of California, Oregon, and Washington.

A Risk Assessment System with Automatic Extraction of Event Types

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capet, Philippe; Delavallade, Thomas; Nakamura, Takuya; Sandor, Agnes; Tarsitano, Cedric; Voyatzi, Stavroula

In this article we describe the joint effort of experts in linguistics, information extraction and risk assessment to integrate EventSpotter, an automatic event extraction engine, into ADAC, an automated early warning system. By detecting as early as possible weak signals of emerging risks ADAC provides a dynamic synthetic picture of situations involving risk. The ADAC system calculates risk on the basis of fuzzy logic rules operated on a template graph whose leaves are event types. EventSpotter is based on a general purpose natural language dependency parser, XIP, enhanced with domain-specific lexical resources (Lexicon-Grammar). Its role is to automatically feed the leaves with input data.

Butorphanol Injection

MedlinePlus

... of these symptoms or those listed in the IMPORTANT WARNINGS section, call your doctor immediately or get emergency medical attention: agitation, hallucinations (seeing things or hearing voices that ...

Principles and methods for ensuring safe operation of high-rise buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korol, Oleg; Kustikova, Yuliya

2018-03-01

The purpose of monitoring the technical condition of high-rise buildings is to prevent possible negative situations leading to significant socio-economic losses by timely warning of the emergence of such situations. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following main tasks, such as: identifying the time and place of origin and development of negative processes that lead to the emergence of an emergency situation; analysis of the possible development of the situation in time; development of management decisions; formation and submission of warning signals; obtaining new knowledge about the operation of the object, the factors of influence on this object, the speed of development of destructive processes. When solving the above problems, an important role is played by constructing an adequate mathematical model of the object, the parameters of which should be calibrated according to the current monitoring results.

The Mexican Sistema de Alerta Sismica (SAS) Experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Espinosa-Aranda, J.; Rodriguez, F.

2003-12-01

The Mexico City's SAS is an Early Warning System developed in accordance with recommendations of foreign and national seismology experts, after the disaster generated in 1985 by the M8.1 Michoacan earthquake. The SAS aim is to help mitigate future seismic disasters in Mexico City (MC), mainly if the big forecast "Guerrero Earthquake" hits. In 1991 the SAS started its service in an experimental basis for evaluating its performance both with a group of basic education students in public schools, and with the emergency stop function for the Mexico City Metropolitan Subway System (METRO of MC); after this The Federal District Government (FDG) opened the SAS as a public service in August, 1993, shortly after the SAS warned, with more than 60 seconds of anticipation, the incoming effect of May 13, 1993, M5.8, and M6 double earthquake originated more than 300 Km from MC between Guerrero and Oaxaca, on the coast. That year, an initial technical flaw generated one false alert signal; the cause was readily corrected. The SAS has 12 seismic sensor stations covering a stripe close to 400 X 100 Km on the Guerrero's coast, between Papanoa and Punta Maldonado, that send information through a dedicated radio relay system to the SAS Central Control in MC., using the valuable support of some TELMEX field installations. Until August, 2003, the SAS sensor system has detected more than 1550 earthquakes in the 2.55 magnitude events, which are the ones felt in MC. The SAS has generated 57 warning signals with an average of 60 sec in advance to earthquake effects: 46 of restricted use for M<6, and 11 of public use for M>6 events. Public warnings have the automatic broadcast support of many commercial radio AM/FM and TV stations in Mexico City and Toluca valleys. The FDG controls the SAS signal service that includes the more frequent events (from M>5 up), asking the user to develop procedures and practice useful actions to mitigate seismic disasters. Each validated SAS seismic warning automatically generates and sends the event information by fax and e-mail to the DFG and Civil Protection Authorities, users and news media; it also sends information about the SAS operating conditions to service technicians, via radio, and phone.

Virtual Induction Loops Based on Cooperative Vehicular Communications

PubMed Central

Gramaglia, Marco; Bernardos, Carlos J.; Calderon, Maria

2013-01-01

Induction loop detectors have become the most utilized sensors in traffic management systems. The gathered traffic data is used to improve traffic efficiency (i.e., warning users about congested areas or planning new infrastructures). Despite their usefulness, their deployment and maintenance costs are expensive. Vehicular networks are an emerging technology that can support novel strategies for ubiquitous and more cost-effective traffic data gathering. In this article, we propose and evaluate VIL (Virtual Induction Loop), a simple and lightweight traffic monitoring system based on cooperative vehicular communications. The proposed solution has been experimentally evaluated through simulation using real vehicular traces. PMID:23348033

Evolution of tsunami warning systems and products.

PubMed

Bernard, Eddie; Titov, Vasily

2015-10-28

Each year, about 60 000 people and $4 billion (US$) in assets are exposed to the global tsunami hazard. Accurate and reliable tsunami warning systems have been shown to provide a significant defence for this flooding hazard. However, the evolution of warning systems has been influenced by two processes: deadly tsunamis and available technology. In this paper, we explore the evolution of science and technology used in tsunami warning systems, the evolution of their products using warning technologies, and offer suggestions for a new generation of warning products, aimed at the flooding nature of the hazard, to reduce future tsunami impacts on society. We conclude that coastal communities would be well served by receiving three standardized, accurate, real-time tsunami warning products, namely (i) tsunami energy estimate, (ii) flooding maps and (iii) tsunami-induced harbour current maps to minimize the impact of tsunamis. Such information would arm communities with vital flooding guidance for evacuations and port operations. The advantage of global standardized flooding products delivered in a common format is efficiency and accuracy, which leads to effectiveness in promoting tsunami resilience at the community level. © 2015 The Authors.

Evolution of tsunami warning systems and products

PubMed Central

Bernard, Eddie; Titov, Vasily

2015-01-01

Each year, about 60 000 people and $4 billion (US$) in assets are exposed to the global tsunami hazard. Accurate and reliable tsunami warning systems have been shown to provide a significant defence for this flooding hazard. However, the evolution of warning systems has been influenced by two processes: deadly tsunamis and available technology. In this paper, we explore the evolution of science and technology used in tsunami warning systems, the evolution of their products using warning technologies, and offer suggestions for a new generation of warning products, aimed at the flooding nature of the hazard, to reduce future tsunami impacts on society. We conclude that coastal communities would be well served by receiving three standardized, accurate, real-time tsunami warning products, namely (i) tsunami energy estimate, (ii) flooding maps and (iii) tsunami-induced harbour current maps to minimize the impact of tsunamis. Such information would arm communities with vital flooding guidance for evacuations and port operations. The advantage of global standardized flooding products delivered in a common format is efficiency and accuracy, which leads to effectiveness in promoting tsunami resilience at the community level. PMID:26392620

Aircraft Command in Emergency Situations (ACES). Phase 1: Concept Development

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-04-01

progresses through a sequence of four stages: incipient, smoldeang, flame, and heat ( ASHREA Handbook 1984 Systems, Chapter 38, Fire and Sino’.e Control...CARGO F FCARGO DETI DET 2 1D DET2 Figure 6-9. Synoptic Display Layout for Concept R SMOKE HEATt I I 110 T AFTCARGO ~HEAT VS TIME SMOKE VS TIME HEAVY 7II...Phosphate Road, Suite 110 , North Charleston, SC 29418. Reference 12 Senturia, S. D., "Fabrication and Evaluation of Polymeric Early-Warning Fire Alarm

Evacuation Behavior and Problems: Findings and Implications from the Research Literature.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-07-01

1955; Yutzy, 1964b; Fitz - patrick and Waxman, 1972). In still other disasters, the local civil defense dir- ector was not present (Bates, et al., 1963...Cherlin and Leo G. Reeder 1976 "Agencies and the Los Angeles earthquake." Mass Emergencies 1:217-228. Brouillette, John R. 1966 "A tornado warning system...occupancy and human adjustment to flood hazard." Climatology 18:3-17. 168 I’ I Carroll, John J. and Salvador Parco 1966 Social Organization in a Crisis

81. THREE ADDITIONAL BLACK AND WHITE VIDEO MONITORS LOCATED IMMEDIATELY ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

81. THREE ADDITIONAL BLACK AND WHITE VIDEO MONITORS LOCATED IMMEDIATELY WEST OF THOSE IN CA-133-1-A-80. COMPLEX SAFETY WARNING LIGHTS FOR SLC-3E (PAD 2) AND BLDG. 763 (LOB) LOCATED ABOVE MONITOR 3; GREEN LIGHTS ON BOTTOM OF EACH STACK ILLUMINATED. LEFT TO RIGHT BELOW MONITORS: ACCIDENT REPORTING EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEM TELEPHONE, ATLAS H FUEL COUNTER, AND DIGITAL COUNTDOWN CLOCK. - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Operations Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

Developing Tsunami Evacuation Plans, Maps, And Procedures: Pilot Project in Central America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arcos, N. P.; Kong, L. S. L.; Arcas, D.; Aliaga, B.; Coetzee, D.; Leonard, J.

2015-12-01

In the End-to-End tsunami warning chain, once a forecast is provided and a warning alert issued, communities must know what to do and where to go. The 'where to' answer would be reliable and practical community-level tsunami evacuation maps. Following the Exercise Pacific Wave 2011, a questionnaire was sent to the 46 Member States of Pacific Tsunami Warning System (PTWS). The results revealed over 42 percent of Member States lacked tsunami mass coastal evacuation plans. Additionally, a significant gap in mapping was exposed as over 55 percent of Member States lacked tsunami evacuation maps, routes, signs and assembly points. Thereby, a significant portion of countries in the Pacific lack appropriate tsunami planning and mapping for their at-risk coastal communities. While a variety of tools exist to establish tsunami inundation areas, these are inconsistent while a methodology has not been developed to assist countries develop tsunami evacuation maps, plans, and procedures. The International Tsunami Information Center (ITIC) and partners is leading a Pilot Project in Honduras demonstrating that globally standardized tools and methodologies can be applied by a country, with minimal tsunami warning and mitigation resources, towards the determination of tsunami inundation areas and subsequently community-owned tsunami evacuation maps and plans for at-risk communities. The Pilot involves a 1- to 2-year long process centered on a series of linked tsunami training workshops on: evacuation planning, evacuation map development, inundation modeling and map creation, tsunami warning & emergency response Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and conducting tsunami exercises (including evacuation). The Pilot's completion is capped with a UNESCO/IOC document so that other countries can replicate the process in their tsunami-prone communities.

Methods for the evaluation of alternative disaster warning systems. Executive summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Agnew, C. E.; Anderson, R. J., Jr.; Lanen, W. N.

1977-01-01

Methods for estimating the economic costs and benefits of the transmission-reception and reception-action segments of a disaster warning system (DWS) are described. Methods were identified for the evaluation of the transmission and reception portions of alternative disaster warning systems. Example analyses using the methods identified were performed.

30 CFR 75.1101-10 - Water sprinkler systems; fire warning devices at belt drives.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Water sprinkler systems; fire warning devices..., DEPARTMENT OF LABOR COAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH MANDATORY SAFETY STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1101-10 Water sprinkler systems; fire warning devices at belt drives. Each water sprinkler...

30 CFR 75.1101-10 - Water sprinkler systems; fire warning devices at belt drives.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Water sprinkler systems; fire warning devices..., DEPARTMENT OF LABOR COAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH MANDATORY SAFETY STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1101-10 Water sprinkler systems; fire warning devices at belt drives. Each water sprinkler...

30 CFR 75.1101-10 - Water sprinkler systems; fire warning devices at belt drives.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Water sprinkler systems; fire warning devices..., DEPARTMENT OF LABOR COAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH MANDATORY SAFETY STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1101-10 Water sprinkler systems; fire warning devices at belt drives. Each water sprinkler...

30 CFR 75.1101-10 - Water sprinkler systems; fire warning devices at belt drives.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Water sprinkler systems; fire warning devices..., DEPARTMENT OF LABOR COAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH MANDATORY SAFETY STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1101-10 Water sprinkler systems; fire warning devices at belt drives. Each water sprinkler...

30 CFR 75.1101-10 - Water sprinkler systems; fire warning devices at belt drives.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Water sprinkler systems; fire warning devices..., DEPARTMENT OF LABOR COAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH MANDATORY SAFETY STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1101-10 Water sprinkler systems; fire warning devices at belt drives. Each water sprinkler...

77 FR 5058 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Automatic...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-01

... for OMB Review; Comment Request; Automatic Fire Sensor and Warning Devices Systems; Examination and..., ``Automatic Fire Sensor and Warning Devices Systems,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review... and warning device systems are maintained and calibrated in order to function properly at all times...

Space safety and rescue 1979-1981: Worldwide disaster response, rescue and safety employing space-borne systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, J. W. (Editor)

1983-01-01

Selected papers from the 1979, 1980, and 1981 IAA symposia on space safety and rescue and on worldwide disaster response, safety, and rescue employing spaceborne systems are presented. Available papers published elsewhere and those presented at the 1976, 1977, and 1978 symposia are presented in abstract form. Subjects discussed include man-made space debris, nuclear-waste disposal in space, space-station safety design, psychological training, the introduction of female crewmembers, analysis of the November 23, 1980 earthquake as a design basis for satellite emergency communication, disaster warning using the GOES satellite, and satellite communications for disaster relief operations. Three reviews of the application of space technology to emergency and disaster relief and prevention, given at other symposia in 1981, are presented in an appendix. No individual items are abstracted in this volume

30 CFR 75.1103-5 - Automatic fire warning devices; actions and response.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Automatic fire warning devices; actions and... Protection § 75.1103-5 Automatic fire warning devices; actions and response. (a) When the carbon monoxide... fire sensor and warning device systems shall provide an effective warning signal at the following...

30 CFR 75.1103-5 - Automatic fire warning devices; actions and response.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Automatic fire warning devices; actions and... Protection § 75.1103-5 Automatic fire warning devices; actions and response. (a) When the carbon monoxide... fire sensor and warning device systems shall provide an effective warning signal at the following...

Emergency Health Preparedness: Expectations for Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winkelman, Jack L.

Specific issues relevant to the emergency health preparedness of schools and the key roles and expectations applicable to teachers are outlined. It is noted that, while issues of legal liability relevant to teachers are complex, teachers are expected to: (1) anticipate possible risk or harm involved in activities; (2) give adequate warning of…

Automated Safety Warning Controller (ASWC) Phase I - Proof of Concept

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-07-07

Automated warning systems are not a new concept within the transportation community. There are several projects on the state highway that use the concept of a roadway sensor initiating some type of motorist warning. To date, all of these systems are ...

Truck monitoring and warning systems for freeway-to-freeway connections

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-10-01

This research focuses on the development and evaluation of a truck monitoring and warning (TM&W) system for detecting high, long, fast trucks at freeway-to-freeway connections and activating displays to warn the truck drivers of potential hazards as ...

Environment Agency England flood warning systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strong, Chris; Walters, Mark; Haynes, Elizabeth; Dobson, Peter

2015-04-01

Context In England around 5 million homes are at risk of flooding. We invest significantly in flood prevention and management schemes but we can never prevent all flooding. Early alerting systems are fundamental to helping us reduce the impacts of flooding. The Environment Agency has had the responsibility for flood warning since 1996. In 2006 we invested in a new dissemination system that would send direct messages to pre-identified recipients via a range of channels. Since then we have continuously improved the system and service we offer. In 2010 we introduced an 'opt-out' service where we pre-registered landline numbers in flood risk areas, significantly increasing the customer base. The service has performed exceptionally well under intense flood conditions. Over a period of 3 days in December 2013, when England was experiencing an east coast storm surge, the system sent nearly 350,000 telephone messages, 85,000 emails and 70,000 text messages, with a peak call rate of around 37,000 per hour and 100% availability. The Floodline Warnings Direct (FWD) System FWD provides warnings in advance of flooding so that people at risk and responders can take action to minimise the impact of the flood. Warnings are sent via telephone, fax, text message, pager or e-mail to over 1.1 million properties located within flood risk areas in England. Triggers for issuing alerts and warnings include attained and forecast river levels and rainfall in some rapidly responding locations. There are three levels of warning: Flood Alert, Flood Warning and Severe Flood Warning, and a stand down message. The warnings can be updated to include relevant information to help inform those at risk. Working with our current provider Fujitsu, the system is under a programme of continuous improvement including expanding the 'opt-out' service to mobile phone numbers registered to at risk addresses, allowing mobile registration to the system for people 'on the move' and providing access to registration via third parties. The 'Future Flood Warning System' Our research shows that people want more choice on how they access and receive warnings. Many want a service tailored to their own risk, rather than that of their community. They also want more information about the forecast and the situation to that they can make decisions personal to their circumstances. Our future flood warning system will build upon the success of our existing service and will aim to: • provide our customers with a more flexible and personalised self-service approach which caters for the diverse range of user needs • alert people wherever they are, not just in properties • be flexible enough to respond to user feedback to make improvements and utilise new technology as it becomes available • provide real-time visualisation of system performance, to assist our flood response • capture greater levels of information from the recipients of our warnings • be efficient for operators of the system and utilise automation where relevant • take a risk based approach to resilience to provide the highest level of reliability when needed at a reduced cost

In chronic myeloid leukemia patients on second-line tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy, deep sequencing of BCR-ABL1 at the time of warning may allow sensitive detection of emerging drug-resistant mutants.

PubMed

Soverini, Simona; De Benedittis, Caterina; Castagnetti, Fausto; Gugliotta, Gabriele; Mancini, Manuela; Bavaro, Luana; Machova Polakova, Katerina; Linhartova, Jana; Iurlo, Alessandra; Russo, Domenico; Pane, Fabrizio; Saglio, Giuseppe; Rosti, Gianantonio; Cavo, Michele; Baccarani, Michele; Martinelli, Giovanni

2016-08-02

Imatinib-resistant chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients receiving second-line tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy with dasatinib or nilotinib have a higher risk of disease relapse and progression and not infrequently BCR-ABL1 kinase domain (KD) mutations are implicated in therapeutic failure. In this setting, earlier detection of emerging BCR-ABL1 KD mutations would offer greater chances of efficacy for subsequent salvage therapy and limit the biological consequences of full BCR-ABL1 kinase reactivation. Taking advantage of an already set up and validated next-generation deep amplicon sequencing (DS) assay, we aimed to assess whether DS may allow a larger window of detection of emerging BCR-ABL1 KD mutants predicting for an impending relapse. a total of 125 longitudinal samples from 51 CML patients who had acquired dasatinib- or nilotinib-resistant mutations during second-line therapy were analyzed by DS from the time of failure and mutation detection by conventional sequencing backwards. BCR-ABL1/ABL1%(IS) transcript levels were used to define whether the patient had 'optimal response', 'warning' or 'failure' at the time of first mutation detection by DS. DS was able to backtrack dasatinib- or nilotinib-resistant mutations to the previous sample(s) in 23/51 (45 %) pts. Median mutation burden at the time of first detection by DS was 5.5 % (range, 1.5-17.5 %); median interval between detection by DS and detection by conventional sequencing was 3 months (range, 1-9 months). In 5 cases, the mutations were detectable at baseline. In the remaining cases, response level at the time mutations were first detected by DS could be defined as 'Warning' (according to the 2013 ELN definitions of response to 2nd-line therapy) in 13 cases, as 'Optimal response' in one case, as 'Failure' in 4 cases. No dasatinib- or nilotinib-resistant mutations were detected by DS in 15 randomly selected patients with 'warning' at various timepoints, that later turned into optimal responders with no treatment changes. DS enables a larger window of detection of emerging BCR-ABL1 KD mutations predicting for an impending relapse. A 'Warning' response may represent a rational trigger, besides 'Failure', for DS-based mutation screening in CML patients undergoing second-line TKI therapy.

Some human factors issues in the development and evaluation of cockpit alerting and warning systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Randle, R. J., Jr.; Larsen, W. E.; Williams, D. H.

1980-01-01

A set of general guidelines for evaluating a newly developed cockpit alerting and warning system in terms of human factors issues are provided. Although the discussion centers around a general methodology, it is made specifically to the issues involved in alerting systems. An overall statement of the current operational problem is presented. Human factors problems with reference to existing alerting and warning systems are described. The methodology for proceeding through system development to system test is discussed. The differences between traditional human factors laboratory evaluations and those required for evaluation of complex man-machine systems under development are emphasized. Performance evaluation in the alerting and warning subsystem using a hypothetical sample system is explained.

An extensive review of commercial product labels the good, bad and ugly.

PubMed

Mrvos, R; Dean, B S; Krenzelok, E P

1986-02-01

Cautions and warnings on consumer products play an important role in the prevention and treatment of poison exposures. Frequently those exposed will follow the directions before calling the poison center, physician or emergency room. An extensive label review of 200 commercial products was conducted to determine if medical treatment advice was correct, if the general public was able to comprehend warning statements, and if warnings were adequate. We conclude there are products available that provide precise, correct information. However, there are many that contain incorrect, misleading, and often dangerous information to an unsuspecting public. Various examples of both types are given to make the poison information specialist aware of what information is presented.

Operation of a real-time warning system for debris flows in the San Francisco bay area, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilson, Raymond C.; Mark, Robert K.; Barbato, Gary; ,

1993-01-01

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Weather Service (NWS) have developed an operational warning system for debris flows during severe rainstorms in the San Francisco Bay region. The NWS makes quantitative forecasts of precipitation from storm systems approaching the Bay area and coordinates a regional network of radio-telemetered rain gages. The USGS has formulated thresholds for the intensity and duration of rainfall required to initiate debris flows. The first successful public warnings were issued during a severe storm sequence in February 1986. Continued operation of the warning system since 1986 has provided valuable working experience in rainfall forecasting and monitoring, refined rainfall thresholds, and streamlined procedures for issuing public warnings. Advisory statements issued since 1986 are summarized.

An Envelope Based Feedback Control System for Earthquake Early Warning: Reality Check Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heaton, T. H.; Karakus, G.; Beck, J. L.

2016-12-01

Earthquake early warning systems are, in general, designed to be open loop control systems in such a way that the output, i.e., the warning messages, only depend on the input, i.e., recorded ground motions, up to the moment when the message is issued in real-time. We propose an algorithm, which is called Reality Check Algorithm (RCA), which would assess the accuracy of issued warning messages, and then feed the outcome of the assessment back into the system. Then, the system would modify its messages if necessary. That is, we are proposing to convert earthquake early warning systems into feedback control systems by integrating them with RCA. RCA works by continuously monitoring and comparing the observed ground motions' envelopes to the predicted envelopes of Virtual Seismologist (Cua 2005). Accuracy of magnitude and location (both spatial and temporal) estimations of the system are assessed separately by probabilistic classification models, which are trained by a Sparse Bayesian Learning technique called Automatic Relevance Determination prior.

Meteotsunamis, destructive tsunami-like waves: from observations and simulations towards a warning system (MESSI)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sepic, Jadranka; Vilibic, Ivica

2016-04-01

Atmospherically-generated tsunami-like waves, also known as meteotsunamis, pose a severe threat for exposed coastlines. Although not as destructive as ordinary tsunamis, several meters high meteotsunami waves can bring destruction, cause loss of human lives and raise panic. For that reason, MESSI, an integrative meteotsunami research & warning project, has been developed and will be presented herein. The project has a threefold base: (1) research of atmosphere-ocean interaction with focus on (i) source processes in the atmosphere, (ii) energy transfer to the ocean and (iii) along-propagation growth of meteotsunami waves; (2) estimation of meteotsunami occurrence rates in past, present and future climate, and mapping of meteotsunami hazard; (3) construction of a meteotsunami warning system prototype, with the latter being the main objective of the project. Due to a great frequency of meteotsunamis and its complex bathymetry which varies from the shallow shelf in the north towards deep pits in the south, with a number of funnel-shaped bays and harbours substantially amplifying incoming tsunami-like waves, the Adriatic, northernmost of the Mediterranean seas, has been chosen as an ideal area for realization of the MESSI project and implementation of the warning system. This warning system will however be designed to allow for a wider applicability and easy-to-accomplish transfer to other endangered locations. The architecture of the warning system will integrate several components: (1) real-time measurements of key oceanographic and atmospheric parameters, (2) coupled atmospheric-ocean models run in real time (warning) mode, and (3) semi-automatic procedures and protocols for warning of civil protection, local authorities and public. The effectiveness of the warning system will be tested over the historic events.

Eye movement and brake reactions to real world brake-capacity forward collision warnings--a naturalistic driving study.

PubMed

Wege, Claudia; Will, Sebastian; Victor, Trent

2013-09-01

The purpose of this field operational test study is to assess visual attention allocation and brake reactions in response to a brake-capacity forward collision warning (B-FCW), which is designed similarly to all forward collision warnings on the market for trucks. Truck drivers' reactions immediately after the warning (threat-period) as well as a few seconds after the warning (post-threat-recovery-period) are analyzed, both with and without taking into consideration the predictability of an event and driver distraction. A B-FCW system interface should immediately direct visual attention toward the threat and allow the driver to make a quick decision about whether or not to brake. To investigate eye movement reactions, we analyzed glances 30s before and 15s after 60 naturally occurring collision warning events. The B-FCW events were extracted from the Volvo euroFOT database, which contains data from 30 Volvo trucks driving for approximately 40000 h for four million kilometers. Statistical analyses show that a B-FCW leads to immediate attention allocation toward the roadway and drivers hit the brake. In addition to this intended effect during the threat-period, a rather unexpected effect within the post-threat-recovery-period was discovered in unpredictable events and events with distracted drivers. A few seconds after a warning is issued, eye movements are directed away from the road toward the warning source in the instrument cluster. This potentially indicates that the driver is seeking to understand the circumstances of the warning. Potential reasons for this are discussed: properties relating to the termination of the warning information, the position of the visual and/or audio warning, the conspicuity of the warning, the duration of the warning, and the modality of the warning. The present results are particularly valuable because all on-market collision warning systems in trucks (and almost all in cars) involve visual warnings positioned in the instrument cluster like the one in this study. Acknowledging the fact that human machine interface (HMI)-design is challenging, the conclusions lead the way toward HMI design recommendations for collision warning systems. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

77 FR 5616 - Proposed Technical Standard Order (TSO)-C151c, Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-03

... (TSO)-C151c, Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS) ACTION: Notice of availability and request for... second draft of Technical Standard Order (TSO)- C151c, Terrain Awareness and Warning System. Comments received from the initial June 2011 release, resulted in changes to the proposed document significant...

30 CFR 75.1103-3 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; minimum requirements; general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; minimum requirements; general. 75.1103-3 Section 75.1103-3 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-3 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; minimum...

Evaluation of a Road-Departure Crash Warning System.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-12-31

This report presents the results of an independent evaluation of the Road-Departure Crash Warning System (RDCW), which is designed to warn drivers when they are drifting out of their lane or about to enter a curve at an unsafe speed. The RDCW lateral...

Truck monitoring and warning systems for freeway-to-freeway connections : summary

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-10-01

This project focuses on the development and evaluation of a truck monitoring and warning (TM&W) system for detecting high, long, fast trucks at freeway-to-freeway connections and activating displays to warn the truck drivers of potential hazards as t...

Evaluating the Use of Remote Sensing Data in the USAID Famine Early Warning Systems Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Molly E.; Brickley, Elizabeth B.

2011-01-01

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) s Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) provides monitoring and early warning support to decision makers responsible for responding to food insecurity emergencies on three continents. FEWS NET uses satellite remote sensing and ground observations of rainfall and vegetation in order to provide information on drought, floods and other extreme weather events to decision makers. Previous research has presented results from a professional review questionnaire with FEWS NET expert end-users whose focus was to elicit Earth observation requirements. The review provided FEWS NET operational requirements and assessed the usefulness of additional remote sensing data. Here we analyzed 1342 food security update reports from FEWS NET. The reports consider the biophysical, socioeconomic, and contextual influences on the food security in 17 countries in Africa from 2000-2009. The objective was to evaluate the use of remote sensing information in comparison with other important factors in the evaluation of food security crises. The results show that all 17 countries use rainfall information, agricultural production statistics, food prices and food access parameters in their analysis of food security problems. The reports display large scale patterns that are strongly related to history of the FEWS NET program in each country. We found that rainfall data was used 84% of the time, remote sensing of vegetation 28% of the time, and gridded crop models 10%, reflecting the length of use of each product in the regions. More investment is needed in training personnel on remote sensing products to improve use of data products throughout the FEWS NET system.

Development and validation of a weather-based warning system to advise fungicide applications to control dollar spot on turfgrass.

PubMed

Smith, D L; Kerns, J P; Walker, N R; Payne, A F; Horvath, B; Inguagiato, J C; Kaminski, J E; Tomaso-Peterson, M; Koch, P L

2018-01-01

Dollar spot is one of the most common diseases of golf course turfgrass and numerous fungicide applications are often required to provide adequate control. Weather-based disease warning systems have been developed to more accurately time fungicide applications; however, they tend to be ineffective and are not currently in widespread use. The primary objective of this research was to develop a new weather-based disease warning system to more accurately advise fungicide applications to control dollar spot activity across a broad geographic and climactic range. The new dollar spot warning system was developed from data collected at field sites in Madison, WI and Stillwater, OK in 2008 and warning system validation sites were established in Madison, WI, Stillwater, OK, Knoxville, TN, State College, PA, Starkville, MS, and Storrs, CT between 2011 and 2016. A meta-analysis of all site-years was conducted and the most effective warning system for dollar spot development consisted of a five-day moving average of relative humidity and average daily temperature. Using this model the highest effective probability that provided dollar spot control similar to that of a calendar-based program across the numerous sites and years was 20%. Additional analysis found that the 20% spray threshold provided comparable control to the calendar-based program while reducing fungicide usage by up to 30%, though further refinement may be needed as practitioners implement this warning system in a range of environments not tested here. The weather-based dollar spot warning system presented here will likely become an important tool for implementing precision disease management strategies for future turfgrass managers, especially as financial and regulatory pressures increase the need to reduce pesticide usage on golf course turfgrass.

Development and validation of a weather-based warning system to advise fungicide applications to control dollar spot on turfgrass

PubMed Central

Smith, D. L.; Kerns, J. P.; Walker, N. R.; Payne, A. F.; Horvath, B.; Inguagiato, J. C.; Kaminski, J. E.; Tomaso-Peterson, M.

2018-01-01

Dollar spot is one of the most common diseases of golf course turfgrass and numerous fungicide applications are often required to provide adequate control. Weather-based disease warning systems have been developed to more accurately time fungicide applications; however, they tend to be ineffective and are not currently in widespread use. The primary objective of this research was to develop a new weather-based disease warning system to more accurately advise fungicide applications to control dollar spot activity across a broad geographic and climactic range. The new dollar spot warning system was developed from data collected at field sites in Madison, WI and Stillwater, OK in 2008 and warning system validation sites were established in Madison, WI, Stillwater, OK, Knoxville, TN, State College, PA, Starkville, MS, and Storrs, CT between 2011 and 2016. A meta-analysis of all site-years was conducted and the most effective warning system for dollar spot development consisted of a five-day moving average of relative humidity and average daily temperature. Using this model the highest effective probability that provided dollar spot control similar to that of a calendar-based program across the numerous sites and years was 20%. Additional analysis found that the 20% spray threshold provided comparable control to the calendar-based program while reducing fungicide usage by up to 30%, though further refinement may be needed as practitioners implement this warning system in a range of environments not tested here. The weather-based dollar spot warning system presented here will likely become an important tool for implementing precision disease management strategies for future turfgrass managers, especially as financial and regulatory pressures increase the need to reduce pesticide usage on golf course turfgrass. PMID:29522560

Effect of audio in-vehicle red light-running warning message on driving behavior based on a driving simulator experiment.

PubMed

Yan, Xuedong; Liu, Yang; Xu, Yongcun

2015-01-01

Drivers' incorrect decisions of crossing signalized intersections at the onset of the yellow change may lead to red light running (RLR), and RLR crashes result in substantial numbers of severe injuries and property damage. In recent years, some Intelligent Transport System (ITS) concepts have focused on reducing RLR by alerting drivers that they are about to violate the signal. The objective of this study is to conduct an experimental investigation on the effectiveness of the red light violation warning system using a voice message. In this study, the prototype concept of the RLR audio warning system was modeled and tested in a high-fidelity driving simulator. According to the concept, when a vehicle is approaching an intersection at the onset of yellow and the time to the intersection is longer than the yellow interval, the in-vehicle warning system can activate the following audio message "The red light is impending. Please decelerate!" The intent of the warning design is to encourage drivers who cannot clear an intersection during the yellow change interval to stop at the intersection. The experimental results showed that the warning message could decrease red light running violations by 84.3 percent. Based on the logistic regression analyses, drivers without a warning were about 86 times more likely to make go decisions at the onset of yellow and about 15 times more likely to run red lights than those with a warning. Additionally, it was found that the audio warning message could significantly reduce RLR severity because the RLR drivers' red-entry times without a warning were longer than those with a warning. This driving simulator study showed a promising effect of the audio in-vehicle warning message on reducing RLR violations and crashes. It is worthwhile to further develop the proposed technology in field applications.

Criteria for evaluating the condition of a tropical cyclone warning system.

PubMed

Parker, D

1999-09-01

This paper evaluates the condition (i.e. health) of a tropical cyclone warning system (TCWS) during a 'quiet period' between infrequent intense cyclones. Capacity to make pre-disaster evaluations is important--disaster warning systems need to be in sound condition before, not after, disaster. The research--part of the UK's International Decade of Natural Disaster Reduction Flagship Programme--focuses upon an evaluatory method first used on flood warning systems. The Criteria-development Matrix comprises social, organisational and institutional criteria by which a TCWS may be assessed using a five-stage development scale. This method is used to evaluate Mauritius's TCWS using in-depth interview data. Ways to enhance the method and apply it to other disaster warning systems are discussed. The TCWS in Mauritius is a relatively sound one from which others can learn. Weaknesses requiring attention for Mauritius's TCWS to progress to an advanced level of development are identified.

An electrophysiological study of the impact of a Forward Collision Warning System in a simulator driving task.

PubMed

Bueno, Mercedes; Fabrigoule, Colette; Deleurence, Philippe; Ndiaye, Daniel; Fort, Alexandra

2012-08-27

Driver distraction has been identified as the most important contributing factor in rear-end collisions. In this context, Forward Collision Warning Systems (FCWS) have been developed specifically to warn drivers of potential rear-end collisions. The main objective of this work is to evaluate the impact of a surrogate FCWS and of its reliability according to the driver's attentional state by recording both behavioral and electrophysiological data. Participants drove following a lead motorcycle in a simplified simulator with or without a warning system which gave forewarning of the preceding vehicle braking. Participants had to perform this driving task either alone (simple task) or simultaneously with a secondary cognitive task (dual task). Behavioral and electrophysiological data contributed to revealing a positive effect of the warning system. Participants were faster in detecting the brake light when the system was perfect or imperfect, and the time and attentional resources allocation required for processing the target at higher cognitive level were reduced when the system was completely reliable. When both tasks were performed simultaneously, warning effectiveness was considerably affected at both performance and neural levels; however, the analysis of the brain activity revealed fewer differences between distracted and undistracted drivers when using the warning system. These results show that electrophysiological data could be a valuable tool to complement behavioral data and to have a better understanding of how these systems impact the driver. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The limits of earthquake early warning: Timeliness of ground motion estimates

USGS Publications Warehouse

Minson, Sarah E.; Meier, Men-Andrin; Baltay, Annemarie S.; Hanks, Thomas C.; Cochran, Elizabeth S.

2018-01-01

The basic physics of earthquakes is such that strong ground motion cannot be expected from an earthquake unless the earthquake itself is very close or has grown to be very large. We use simple seismological relationships to calculate the minimum time that must elapse before such ground motion can be expected at a distance from the earthquake, assuming that the earthquake magnitude is not predictable. Earthquake early warning (EEW) systems are in operation or development for many regions around the world, with the goal of providing enough warning of incoming ground shaking to allow people and automated systems to take protective actions to mitigate losses. However, the question of how much warning time is physically possible for specified levels of ground motion has not been addressed. We consider a zero-latency EEW system to determine possible warning times a user could receive in an ideal case. In this case, the only limitation on warning time is the time required for the earthquake to evolve and the time for strong ground motion to arrive at a user’s location. We find that users who wish to be alerted at lower ground motion thresholds will receive more robust warnings with longer average warning times than users who receive warnings for higher ground motion thresholds. EEW systems have the greatest potential benefit for users willing to take action at relatively low ground motion thresholds, whereas users who set relatively high thresholds for taking action are less likely to receive timely and actionable information.

The limits of earthquake early warning: Timeliness of ground motion estimates

PubMed Central

Hanks, Thomas C.

2018-01-01

The basic physics of earthquakes is such that strong ground motion cannot be expected from an earthquake unless the earthquake itself is very close or has grown to be very large. We use simple seismological relationships to calculate the minimum time that must elapse before such ground motion can be expected at a distance from the earthquake, assuming that the earthquake magnitude is not predictable. Earthquake early warning (EEW) systems are in operation or development for many regions around the world, with the goal of providing enough warning of incoming ground shaking to allow people and automated systems to take protective actions to mitigate losses. However, the question of how much warning time is physically possible for specified levels of ground motion has not been addressed. We consider a zero-latency EEW system to determine possible warning times a user could receive in an ideal case. In this case, the only limitation on warning time is the time required for the earthquake to evolve and the time for strong ground motion to arrive at a user’s location. We find that users who wish to be alerted at lower ground motion thresholds will receive more robust warnings with longer average warning times than users who receive warnings for higher ground motion thresholds. EEW systems have the greatest potential benefit for users willing to take action at relatively low ground motion thresholds, whereas users who set relatively high thresholds for taking action are less likely to receive timely and actionable information. PMID:29750190

Early warning and response system (EWARS) for dengue outbreaks: Recent advancements towards widespread applications in critical settings

PubMed Central

Kroeger, Axel; Olliaro, Piero; Rocklöv, Joacim; Sewe, Maquins Odhiambo; Tejeda, Gustavo; Benitez, David; Gill, Balvinder; Hakim, S. Lokman; Gomes Carvalho, Roberta; Bowman, Leigh; Petzold, Max

2018-01-01

Background Dengue outbreaks are increasing in frequency over space and time, affecting people’s health and burdening resource-constrained health systems. The ability to detect early emerging outbreaks is key to mounting an effective response. The early warning and response system (EWARS) is a toolkit that provides countries with early-warning systems for efficient and cost-effective local responses. EWARS uses outbreak and alarm indicators to derive prediction models that can be used prospectively to predict a forthcoming dengue outbreak at district level. Methods We report on the development of the EWARS tool, based on users’ recommendations into a convenient, user-friendly and reliable software aided by a user’s workbook and its field testing in 30 health districts in Brazil, Malaysia and Mexico. Findings 34 Health officers from the 30 study districts who had used the original EWARS for 7 to 10 months responded to a questionnaire with mainly open-ended questions. Qualitative content analysis showed that participants were generally satisfied with the tool but preferred open-access vs. commercial software. EWARS users also stated that the geographical unit should be the district, while access to meteorological information should be improved. These recommendations were incorporated into the second-generation EWARS-R, using the free R software, combined with recent surveillance data and resulted in higher sensitivities and positive predictive values of alarm signals compared to the first-generation EWARS. Currently the use of satellite data for meteorological information is being tested and a dashboard is being developed to increase user-friendliness of the tool. The inclusion of other Aedes borne viral diseases is under discussion. Conclusion EWARS is a pragmatic and useful tool for detecting imminent dengue outbreaks to trigger early response activities. PMID:29727447

Early warning and response system (EWARS) for dengue outbreaks: Recent advancements towards widespread applications in critical settings.

PubMed

Hussain-Alkhateeb, Laith; Kroeger, Axel; Olliaro, Piero; Rocklöv, Joacim; Sewe, Maquins Odhiambo; Tejeda, Gustavo; Benitez, David; Gill, Balvinder; Hakim, S Lokman; Gomes Carvalho, Roberta; Bowman, Leigh; Petzold, Max

2018-01-01

Dengue outbreaks are increasing in frequency over space and time, affecting people's health and burdening resource-constrained health systems. The ability to detect early emerging outbreaks is key to mounting an effective response. The early warning and response system (EWARS) is a toolkit that provides countries with early-warning systems for efficient and cost-effective local responses. EWARS uses outbreak and alarm indicators to derive prediction models that can be used prospectively to predict a forthcoming dengue outbreak at district level. We report on the development of the EWARS tool, based on users' recommendations into a convenient, user-friendly and reliable software aided by a user's workbook and its field testing in 30 health districts in Brazil, Malaysia and Mexico. 34 Health officers from the 30 study districts who had used the original EWARS for 7 to 10 months responded to a questionnaire with mainly open-ended questions. Qualitative content analysis showed that participants were generally satisfied with the tool but preferred open-access vs. commercial software. EWARS users also stated that the geographical unit should be the district, while access to meteorological information should be improved. These recommendations were incorporated into the second-generation EWARS-R, using the free R software, combined with recent surveillance data and resulted in higher sensitivities and positive predictive values of alarm signals compared to the first-generation EWARS. Currently the use of satellite data for meteorological information is being tested and a dashboard is being developed to increase user-friendliness of the tool. The inclusion of other Aedes borne viral diseases is under discussion. EWARS is a pragmatic and useful tool for detecting imminent dengue outbreaks to trigger early response activities.

Tsunami Hockey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weinstein, S.; Becker, N. C.; Wang, D.; Fryer, G. J.

2013-12-01

An important issue that vexes tsunami warning centers (TWCs) is when to cancel a tsunami warning once it is in effect. Emergency managers often face a variety of pressures to allow the public to resume their normal activities, but allowing coastal populations to return too quickly can put them at risk. A TWC must, therefore, exercise caution when cancelling a warning. Kim and Whitmore (2013) show that in many cases a TWC can use the decay of tsunami oscillations in a harbor to forecast when its amplitudes will fall to safe levels. This technique should prove reasonably robust for local tsunamis (those that are potentially dangerous within only 100 km of their source region) and for regional tsunamis (whose danger is limited to within 1000km of the source region) as well. For ocean-crossing destructive tsunamis such as the 11 March 2011 Tohoku tsunami, however, this technique may be inadequate. When a tsunami propagates across the ocean basin, it will encounter topographic obstacles such as seamount chains or coastlines, resulting in coherent reflections that can propagate great distances. When these reflections reach previously-impacted coastlines, they can recharge decaying tsunami oscillations and make them hazardous again. Warning center scientists should forecast sea-level records for 24 hours beyond the initial tsunami arrival in order to observe any potential reflections that may pose a hazard. Animations are a convenient way to visualize reflections and gain a broad geographic overview of their impacts. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has developed tools based on tsunami simulations using the RIFT tsunami forecast model. RIFT is a linear, parallelized numerical tsunami propagation model that runs very efficiently on a multi-CPU system (Wang et al, 2012). It can simulate 30-hours of tsunami wave propagation in the Pacific Ocean at 4 arc minute resolution in approximately 6 minutes of real time on a 12-CPU system. Constructing a 30-hour animation using 1 minute simulated time steps takes approximately 50 minutes on the same system. These animations are generated quickly enough to provide decision support for emergency managers whose coastlines may be impacted by the tsunami several hours later. Tsunami reflections can also aid in determining the source region for those tsunamis generated by non-seismic mechanisms without a clear source such as meteotsunamis, tsunamis generated by meteorological phenomena. A derecho that crossed the New Jersey coast and entered the Atlantic Ocean at approximately 1500 UTC June 13, 2013 generated a meteotsunami that struck the northeast coast of the US causing several injuries. A DART sensor off Montauk, NY, recorded tsunami waves approximately 200 minutes apart. We show how the arrival times of the tsunamis recorded by this DART can help to constrain the source region of the meteotsunami. We also examine other reflections produced by the Haida Gwaii 2012, Tohoku 2011, and other tsunamis.

Radio disturbance warning issuance system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maeda, R.; Inuki, H.

1979-01-01

A radio disturbance warning issuance system was introduced in the Hiraiso Branch of the Radio Research Laboratories in 1972 to reconstruct the current radio disturbance warning service as a social information service. A description of the new ideas which were experimentally systematized by means of an electronic computer is presented.

Non-invasive, home-based electroencephalography hypoglycaemia warning system for personal monitoring using skin surface electrodes: a single-case feasibility study.

PubMed

Clewett, Christopher J; Langley, Phillip; Bateson, Anthony D; Asghar, Aziz; Wilkinson, Antony J

2016-03-01

Hypoglycaemia unawareness is a common condition associated with increased risk of severe hypoglycaemia. The purpose of the authors' study was to develop a simple to use, home-based and non-invasive hypoglycaemia warning system based on electroencephalography (EEG), and to demonstrate its use in a single-case feasibility study. A participant with type 1 diabetes forms a single-person case study where blood sugar levels and EEG were recorded. EEG was recorded using skin surface electrodes placed behind the ear located within the T3 region by the participant in the home. EEG was analysed retrospectively to develop an algorithm which would trigger a warning if EEG changes associated with hypoglycaemia onset were detected. All hypoglycaemia events were detected by the EEG hypoglycaemia warning algorithm. Warnings were triggered with blood glucose concentration levels at or below 4.2 mmol/l in this participant and no warnings were issued when in euglycaemia. The feasibility of a non-invasive EEG-based hypoglycaemia warning system for personal monitoring in the home has been demonstrated in a single case study. The results suggest that further studies are warranted to evaluate the system prospectively in a larger group of participants.

Urban Flood Prevention and Early Warning System in Jinan City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Shiyuan; Li, Qingguo

2018-06-01

The system construction of urban flood control and disaster reduction in China is facing pressure and challenge from new urban water disaster. Under the circumstances that it is difficult to build high standards of flood protection engineering measures in urban areas, it is particularly important to carry out urban flood early warning. In Jinan City, a representative inland area, based on the index system of early warning of flood in Jinan urban area, the method of fuzzy comprehensive evaluation was adopted to evaluate the level of early warning. Based on the cumulative rainfall of 3 hours, the CAflood simulation results based on cellular automaton model of urban flooding were used as evaluation indexes to realize the accuracy and integration of urban flood control early warning.

Feasibility study of using satellites for a disaster warning system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

The development of requirements for the Disaster Warning System (DWS) was investigated in relation to the National Weather Service. Conceptual communication traffic flow patterns for the future of the NWS are studied to determine the impact of the DWS on the MWS. The planned warning systems, and satellite communications are discussed along with data collection, and communication services.

75 FR 33666 - Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Applications for an Exemption From Con-Way...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-14

...), and Iteris, Inc. (Iteris) regarding the placement of lane departure warning system sensors at the top... mounting of the lane departure warning system sensors near the top of the windshield, and within the swept... departure warning system would be used to alert a driver when he or she unintentionally drifts out of their...

Tsunami disaster risk management capabilities in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marios Karagiannis, Georgios; Synolakis, Costas

2015-04-01

Greece is vulnerable to tsunamis, due to the length of the coastline, its islands and its geographical proximity to the Hellenic Arc, an active subduction zone. Historically, about 10% of all world tsunamis occur in the Mediterranean region. Here we review existing tsunami disaster risk management capabilities in Greece. We analyze capabilities across the disaster management continuum, including prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. Specifically, we focus on issues like legal requirements, stakeholders, hazard mitigation practices, emergency operations plans, public awareness and education, community-based approaches and early-warning systems. Our research is based on a review of existing literature and official documentation, on previous projects, as well as on interviews with civil protection officials in Greece. In terms of tsunami disaster prevention and hazard mitigation, the lack of tsunami inundation maps, except for some areas in Crete, makes it quite difficult to get public support for hazard mitigation practices. Urban and spatial planning tools in Greece allow the planner to take into account hazards and establish buffer zones near hazard areas. However, the application of such ordinances at the local and regional levels is often difficult. Eminent domain is not supported by law and there are no regulatory provisions regarding tax abatement as a disaster prevention tool. Building codes require buildings and other structures to withstand lateral dynamic earthquake loads, but there are no provisions for resistance to impact loading from water born debris Public education about tsunamis has increased during the last half-decade but remains sporadic. In terms of disaster preparedness, Greece does have a National Tsunami Warning Center (NTWC) and is a Member of UNESCO's Tsunami Program for North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and connected seas (NEAM) region. Several exercises have been organized in the framework of the NEAM Tsunami Warning System, with the Greek NWTC actively participating as a Candidate Tsunami Watch Provider. In addition, Greece designed and conducted the first tsunami exercise program in the Union Civil Protection Mechanism in 2011, which also considered the attrition of response capabilities by the earthquake generating the tsunami. These exercises have demonstrated the capability of the Greek NWTC to provide early warning to local civil protection authorities, but warning dissemination to the population remains an issue, especially during the summer season. However, there is no earthquake or tsunami national emergency operations plan, and we found that tsunami disaster planning and preparedness activities are rather limited at the local level. We acknowledge partial support by the project ASTARTE (Assessment, STrategy And Risk Reduction for Tsunamis in Europe) FP7-ENV2013 6.4-3, Grant 603839 to the Technical University of Crete.

Is More Better? — Night Vision Enhancement System’s Pedestrian Warning Modes and Older Drivers

PubMed Central

Brown, Timothy; He, Yefei; Roe, Cheryl; Schnell, Thomas

2010-01-01

Pedestrian fatalities as a result of vehicle collisions are much more likely to happen at night than during day time. Poor visibility due to darkness is believed to be one of the causes for the higher vehicle collision rate at night. Existing studies have shown that night vision enhancement systems (NVES) may improve recognition distance, but may increase drivers’ workload. The use of automatic warnings (AW) may help minimize workload, improve performance, and increase safety. In this study, we used a driving simulator to examine performance differences of a NVES with six different configurations of warning cues, including: visual, auditory, tactile, auditory and visual, tactile and visual, and no warning. Older drivers between the ages of 65 and 74 participated in the study. An analysis based on the distance to pedestrian threat at the onset of braking response revealed that tactile and auditory warnings performed the best, while visual warnings performed the worst. When tactile or auditory warnings were presented in combination with visual warning, their effectiveness decreased. This result demonstrated that, contrary to general sense regarding warning systems, multi-modal warnings involving visual cues degraded the effectiveness of NVES for older drivers. PMID:21050616

AN/ALQ-135 tail warning system follow-on operational test and evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenkins, V. M.

1981-11-01

This is a study of the reliability and maintainability of the tail warning system (TWS) AN/ALQ-153. This TWS is a solid state pulsed Doppler radar designed to provide warning and initiate countermeasures against threats attacking from the tail of B-52G/H aircraft.

Test track and driving simulator evaluations of warnings to prevent right-angle crashes at signalized intersections

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-10-01

Two experiments (simulator and test track) were conducted to validate the concept of a system designed to warn potential victims of a likely red-light violator. The warning system uses sensors to detect vehicles that are unlikely to stop at red traff...

Developing a dengue early warning system using time series model: Case study in Tainan, Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xiao-Wei; Jan, Chyan-Deng; Wang, Ji-Shang

2017-04-01

Dengue fever (DF) is a climate-sensitive disease that has been emerging in southern regions of Taiwan over the past few decades, causing a significant health burden to affected areas. This study aims to propose a predictive model to implement an early warning system so as to enhance dengue surveillance and control in Tainan, Taiwan. The Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model was used herein to forecast dengue cases. Temporal correlation between dengue incidences and climate variables were examined by Pearson correlation analysis and Cross-correlation tests in order to identify key determinants to be included as predictors. The dengue surveillance data between 2000 and 2009, as well as their respective climate variables were then used as inputs for the model. We validated the model by forecasting the number of dengue cases expected to occur each week between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2015. In addition, we analyzed historical dengue trends and found that 25 cases occurring in one week was a trigger point that often led to a dengue outbreak. This threshold point was combined with the season-based framework put forth by the World Health Organization to create a more accurate epidemic threshold for a Tainan-specific warning system. A Seasonal ARIMA model with the general form: (1,0,5)(1,1,1)52 is identified as the most appropriate model based on lowest AIC, and was proven significant in the prediction of observed dengue cases. Based on the correlation coefficient, Lag-11 maximum 1-hr rainfall (r=0.319, P<0.05) and Lag-11 minimum temperature (r=0.416, P<0.05) are found to be the most positively correlated climate variables. Comparing the four multivariate models(i.e.1, 4, 9 and 13 weeks ahead), we found that including the climate variables improves the prediction RMSE as high as 3.24%, 10.39%, 17.96%, 21.81% respectively, in contrast to univariate models. Furthermore, the ability of the four multivariate models to determine whether the epidemic threshold would be exceeded in any given week during the forecasting period of 2010-2015 was analyzed using a contingency table. The 4 weeks-ahead approach was the most appropriate for an operational public health response with a 78.7% hit rate and 0.7% false alarm rate. Our findings indicate that SARIMA model is an ideal model for detecting outbreaks as it has high sensitivity and low risk of false alarms. Accurately forecasting future trends will provide valuable time to activate dengue surveillance and control in Tainan, Taiwan. We conclude that this timely dengue early warning system will enable public health services to allocate limited resources more effectively, and public health officials to adjust dengue emergency response plans to their maximum capabilities.

40 CFR 205.173-3 - Warning statement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Warning statement. 205.173-3 Section... PROGRAMS TRANSPORTATION EQUIPMENT NOISE EMISSION CONTROLS Motorcycle Exhaust Systems § 205.173-3 Warning... of that category the manufacturer distributes into commerce: Warning: This product should be checked...

40 CFR 205.173-3 - Warning statement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Warning statement. 205.173-3 Section... PROGRAMS TRANSPORTATION EQUIPMENT NOISE EMISSION CONTROLS Motorcycle Exhaust Systems § 205.173-3 Warning... of that category the manufacturer distributes into commerce: Warning: This product should be checked...

40 CFR 205.173-3 - Warning statement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2012-07-01 2011-07-01 true Warning statement. 205.173-3 Section... PROGRAMS TRANSPORTATION EQUIPMENT NOISE EMISSION CONTROLS Motorcycle Exhaust Systems § 205.173-3 Warning... of that category the manufacturer distributes into commerce: Warning: This product should be checked...

40 CFR 205.173-3 - Warning statement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Warning statement. 205.173-3 Section... PROGRAMS TRANSPORTATION EQUIPMENT NOISE EMISSION CONTROLS Motorcycle Exhaust Systems § 205.173-3 Warning... of that category the manufacturer distributes into commerce: Warning: This product should be checked...

40 CFR 205.173-3 - Warning statement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Warning statement. 205.173-3 Section... PROGRAMS TRANSPORTATION EQUIPMENT NOISE EMISSION CONTROLS Motorcycle Exhaust Systems § 205.173-3 Warning... of that category the manufacturer distributes into commerce: Warning: This product should be checked...

Effects of E-Cigarette Health Warnings and Modified Risk Ad Claims on Adolescent E-Cigarette Craving and Susceptibility.

PubMed

Andrews, J Craig; Mays, Darren; Netemeyer, Richard G; Burton, Scot; Kees, Jeremy

2018-04-16

A between-subjects experiment examines the effects of different warning types and modified risk e-cigarette ad claims on adolescent e-cigarette craving and future e-cigarette susceptibility for two different themes. One theme focuses on nicotine and addiction, and the other on the effects of potentially harmful constituents (e.g., flavored chemicals and lung disease). The effects of warning type (control, text-only, graphic health warning (GHW) and text) and modified risk e-cigarette ad claims (control, exposure reduction, risk reduction) are tested experimentally with two different arms (themes) for a sample of 1,011 adolescents who had tried either e-cigarettes or cigarettes. For addiction, the text-only warning led to significantly less e-cigarette susceptibility than the no warning control condition. As expected, there were no differences between the GHW + text condition and text-only or control conditions for e-cigarette craving. An interaction between warning type and modified risk claims revealed significantly fewer e-cigarette cravings and less susceptibility for the text-only warning and no claim (control) condition than for any other condition. For fatal lung disease, the GHW + text condition led to fewer e-cigarette cravings and less susceptibility than the text-only warning and no warning (control) conditions. Warning type effects can be very different under different themes (e.g., addiction, fatal lung disease). In general, our results point to the effectiveness of the text-only warning for addiction and GHW + text for fatal lung disease. Relative exposure and risk modification claims (e.g., less nicotine; less addicting) tend to undercut addiction warnings. More than one type of e-cigarette warning may be necessary as e-cigarette research evolves. Our results show different warning type effects (e.g., text-only; GHW + text) on e-cigarette craving and future susceptibility for adolescent experimenters depending on the risk theme (e.g., addiction; lung disease) and presence of ad claims (e.g., exposure and risk reduction). As research emerges on risks associated with e-cigarette use, it is important to first know what at-risk populations (e.g., adolescents) believe about such risks. Such research will aid our understanding of what types of warnings might be most effective, especially in the presence of ad claims.

An analysis of an early-warning system to reduce abortions in dairy cattle in Denmark incorporating both financial and epidemiologic aspects.

PubMed

Carpenter, Tim E; Chrièl, Mariann; Greiner, Matthias

2007-01-16

Emergency preparedness relies on the ability to detect patterns in rare incidents in an early stage of an outbreak in order to implement relevant actions. Early warning of an abortion storm as a result of infection with a notifiable disease, e.g. brucellosis, bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) or infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), is a significant surveillance tool. This study used data from 507 large Danish dairy herds. A modified two-stage method for detecting an unusual increase in the abortion incidence was applied to the data. An alarm was considered true if an abortion were detected in the month following the alarm month, otherwise false. The total number of abortions that could potentially be avoided if effective action were taken ranged from 769 (22.9%) to 10 (0.3%), as the number of abortions required to set the alarm increased from 1 to 6. The vast majority of abortions could, however, not be predicted, much less prevented, given this early-warning system. The false to true alarm ratio was reduced when the number of abortions that set the alarm increased. The financial scenarios evaluated demonstrated that the value of an abortion, the cost of responding to an alarm and the efficiency of the actions are important for decision making when reporting an alarm. The presented model can readily be extended to other disease problems and multiple-time periods.

Towards a certification process for tsunami early warning systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Löwe, Peter; Wächter, Jochen; Hammitzsch, Martin

2013-04-01

The natural disaster of the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004 was followed by an information catastrophe. Crucial early warning information could not be delivered to the communities under imminent threat, resulting in over 240,000 casualties in 14 countries. This tragedy sparked the development of a new generation of integrated modular Tsunami Early Warning Systems (TEWS). While significant advances were accomplished in the past years, recent events, like the Chile 2010 and the Tohoku 2011 tsunami demonstrate that the key technical challenge for Tsunami Early Warning research on the supranational scale still lies in the timely issuing of status information and reliable early warning messages in a proven workflow. A second challenge stems from the main objective of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC) Tsunami Programme, the integration of national TEWS towards ocean-wide networks: Each of the increasing number of integrated Tsunami Early Warning Centres has to cope with the continuing evolution of sensors, hardware and software while having to maintain reliable inter-center information exchange services. To avoid future information catastrophes, the performance of all components, ranging from individual sensors, to Warning Centers within their particular end-to-end Warning System Environments, and up to federated Systems of Tsunami Warning Systems has to be regularly validated against defined criteria. Since 2004, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) has built up expertise in the field of TEWS. Within GFZ, the Centre for GeoInformation Technology (CeGIT) has focused its work on the geoinformatics aspects of TEWS in two projects already, being the German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) and the Distant Early Warning System (DEWS). This activity is continued in the TRIDEC project (Collaborative, Complex, and Critical Decision Processes in Evolving Crises) funded under the European Union's seventh Framework Programme (FP7). TRIDEC focuses on real-time intelligent information management in Earth management and its long-term application: The technical development is based on mature system architecture models and industry standards. The use of standards already applies to the operation of individual TRIDEC reference installations and their interlinking into an integrated service infrastructure for supranational warning services. This is a first step towards best practices and service lifecycles for Early Warning Centre IT service management, including Service Level Agreements (SLA) and Service Certification. While on a global scale the integration of TEWS progresses towards Systems of Systems (SoS), there is still an absence of accredited and reliable certifications for national TEWS or regional Tsunami Early Warning Systems of Systems (TEWSoS). Concepts for TEWS operations have already been published under the guidance of the IOC, and can now be complemented by the recent research advances concerning SoS architecture. Combined with feedback from the real world, such as the NEAMwave 2012 Tsunami exercise in the Mediterranean, this can serve as a starting point to formulate initial requirements for TEWS and TEWSoS certification: Certification activities will cover the establishment of new TEWS and TEWSoS, and also both maintenance and enhancement of existing TEWS/TEWSoS. While the IOC is expected to take a central role in the development of the certification strategy, it remains to be defined which bodies will actually conduct the certification process. Certification requirements and results are likely to become a valuable information source for various target groups, ranging from national policy decision makers, government agency planners, national and local government preparedness officials, TWC staff members, Disaster Responders, the media and the insurance industry.

Big data managing in a landslide early warning system: experience from a ground-based interferometric radar application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Intrieri, Emanuele; Bardi, Federica; Fanti, Riccardo; Gigli, Giovanni; Fidolini, Francesco; Casagli, Nicola; Costanzo, Sandra; Raffo, Antonio; Di Massa, Giuseppe; Capparelli, Giovanna; Versace, Pasquale

2017-10-01

A big challenge in terms or landslide risk mitigation is represented by increasing the resiliency of society exposed to the risk. Among the possible strategies with which to reach this goal, there is the implementation of early warning systems. This paper describes a procedure to improve early warning activities in areas affected by high landslide risk, such as those classified as critical infrastructures for their central role in society. This research is part of the project LEWIS (Landslides Early Warning Integrated System): An Integrated System for Landslide Monitoring, Early Warning and Risk Mitigation along Lifelines. LEWIS is composed of a susceptibility assessment methodology providing information for single points and areal monitoring systems, a data transmission network and a data collecting and processing center (DCPC), where readings from all monitoring systems and mathematical models converge and which sets the basis for warning and intervention activities. The aim of this paper is to show how logistic issues linked to advanced monitoring techniques, such as big data transfer and storing, can be dealt with compatibly with an early warning system. Therefore, we focus on the interaction between an areal monitoring tool (a ground-based interferometric radar) and the DCPC. By converting complex data into ASCII strings and through appropriate data cropping and average, and by implementing an algorithm for line-of-sight correction, we managed to reduce the data daily output without compromising the capability for performing.

Early warning signals of regime shifts in coupled human–environment systems

PubMed Central

Bauch, Chris T.; Sigdel, Ram; Pharaon, Joe; Anand, Madhur

2016-01-01

In complex systems, a critical transition is a shift in a system’s dynamical regime from its current state to a strongly contrasting state as external conditions move beyond a tipping point. These transitions are often preceded by characteristic early warning signals such as increased system variability. However, early warning signals in complex, coupled human–environment systems (HESs) remain little studied. Here, we compare critical transitions and their early warning signals in a coupled HES model to an equivalent environment model uncoupled from the human system. We parameterize the HES model, using social and ecological data from old-growth forests in Oregon. We find that the coupled HES exhibits a richer variety of dynamics and regime shifts than the uncoupled environment system. Moreover, the early warning signals in the coupled HES can be ambiguous, heralding either an era of ecosystem conservationism or collapse of both forest ecosystems and conservationism. The presence of human feedback in the coupled HES can also mitigate the early warning signal, making it more difficult to detect the oncoming regime shift. We furthermore show how the coupled HES can be “doomed to criticality”: Strategic human interactions cause the system to remain perpetually in the vicinity of a collapse threshold, as humans become complacent when the resource seems protected but respond rapidly when it is under immediate threat. We conclude that the opportunities, benefits, and challenges of modeling regime shifts and early warning signals in coupled HESs merit further research. PMID:27815533

Towards Operational Meteotsunami Early Warning System: the Adriatic Project MESSI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vilibic, I.; Sepic, J.; Denamiel, C. L.; Mihanovic, H.; Muslim, S.; Tudor, M.; Ivankovic, D.; Jelavic, D.; Kovacevic, V.; Masce, T.; Dadic, V.; Gacic, M.; Horvath, K.; Monserrat, S.; Rabinovich, A.; Telisman-Prtenjak, M.

2017-12-01

A number of destructive meteotsunamis - atmospherically-driven long ocean waves in a tsunami frequency band - occurred during the last decade through the world oceans. Owing to significant damage caused by these meteotsunamis, several scientific groups (occasionally in collaboration with public offices) have started developing meteotsunami warning systems. Creation of one such system has been initialized in the late 2015 within the MESSI (Meteotsunamis, destructive long ocean waves in the tsunami frequency band: from observations and simulations towards a warning system) project. Main goal of this project is to build a prototype of a meteotsunami warning system for the eastern Adriatic coast. The system will be based on real-time measurements, operational atmosphere and ocean modeling and real time decision-making process. Envisioned MESSI meteotsunami warning system consists of three modules: (1) synoptic warning module, which will use established correlation between forecasted synoptic fields and high-frequency sea level oscillations to provide qualitative meteotsunami forecasts for up to a week in advance, (2) probabilistic premodeling prediction module, which will use operational WRF-ROMS-ADCIRC modeling system and compare the forecast with an atlas of presimulations to get the probabilistic meteotsunami forecast for up to three days in advance, and (3) real-time module, which is based on real time tracking of properties of air pressure disturbance (amplitude, speed, direction, period, ...) and their real-time comparison with the atlas of meteotsunami simulations. System will be tested on recent meteotsunami events which were recorded in the MESSI area shortly after the operational meteotsunami network installation. Albeit complex, such a multilevel warning system has a potential to be adapted to most meteotsunami hot spots, simply by tuning the system parameters to the available atmospheric and ocean data.

An Assessment of Coherence Between Early Warning and Response Systems and Serious Cross-Border Health Threats in the European Union and Turkey

PubMed Central

Elif Ekmekci, Perihan

2017-01-01

Disease outbreaks have attracted the attention of the public health community to early warning and response systems (EWRS) for communicable diseases and other cross-border threats to health. The European Union (EU) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have published regulations in this area. Decision 1082/2013/EU brought a new approach the management of public health threats in EU member states. Decision 1082/2013/EU brought several innovations, which included establishing a Health Security Committee; preparedness and response planning; joint procurement of medical countermeasures; ad hoc monitoring for biological, chemical, and environmental threats; EWRS; and recognition of an emergency situation and interoperability between various sectors. Turkey, as an acceding country to the EU and a member of the WHO, has been improving its national public health system to meet EU legislations and WHO standards. This article first explains EWRS as defined in Decision 1082/2013/EU and Turkey’s obligations to align its public health laws to the EU acquis. EWRS in Turkey are addressed, particularly their coherence with EU policies regarding preparedness and response, alert notification, and interoperability between health and other sectors. Finally, the challenges and limitations of the current Turkish system are discussed and further improvements are suggested. PMID:27511433

Design of a reliable and operational landslide early warning system at regional scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calvello, Michele; Piciullo, Luca; Gariano, Stefano Luigi; Melillo, Massimo; Brunetti, Maria Teresa; Peruccacci, Silvia; Guzzetti, Fausto

2017-04-01

Landslide early warning systems at regional scale are used to warn authorities, civil protection personnel and the population about the occurrence of rainfall-induced landslides over wide areas, typically through the prediction and measurement of meteorological variables. A warning model for these systems must include a regional correlation law and a decision algorithm. A regional correlation law can be defined as a functional relationship between rainfall and landslides; it is typically based on thresholds of rainfall indicators (e.g., cumulated rainfall, rainfall duration) related to different exceedance probabilities of landslide occurrence. A decision algorithm can be defined as a set of assumptions and procedures linking rainfall thresholds to warning levels. The design and the employment of an operational and reliable early warning system for rainfall-induced landslides at regional scale depend on the identification of a reliable correlation law as well as on the definition of a suitable decision algorithm. Herein, a five-step process chain addressing both issues and based on rainfall thresholds is proposed; the procedure is tested in a landslide-prone area of the Campania region in southern Italy. To this purpose, a database of 96 shallow landslides triggered by rainfall in the period 2003-2010 and rainfall data gathered from 58 rain gauges are used. First, a set of rainfall thresholds are defined applying a frequentist method to reconstructed rainfall conditions triggering landslides in the test area. In the second step, several thresholds at different exceedance probabilities are evaluated, and different percentile combinations are selected for the activation of three warning levels. Subsequently, within steps three and four, the issuing of warning levels is based on the comparison, over time and for each combination, between the measured rainfall and the pre-defined warning level thresholds. Finally, the optimal percentile combination to be employed in the regional early warning system is selected evaluating the model performance in terms of success and error indicators by means of the "event, duration matrix, performance" (EDuMaP) method.

Physiological scoring: an aid to emergency medical services transport decisions?

PubMed

Challen, Kirsty; Walter, Darren

2010-01-01

Attendance at UK emergency departments is rising steadily despite the proliferation of alternative unscheduled care providers. Evidence is mixed on the willingness of emergency medical services (EMS) providers to decline to transport patients and the safety of incorporating such an option into EMS provision. Physiologically based Early Warning Scores are in use in many hospitals and emergency departments, but not yet have been proven to be of benefit in the prehospital arena. The use of a physiological-social scoring system could safely identify patients calling EMS who might be diverted from the emergency department to an alternative, unscheduled, care provider. This was a retrospective, cohort study of patients with a presenting complaint of "shortness of breath" or "difficulty breathing" transported to the emergency department by EMS. Retrospective calculation of a physiological social score (PMEWS) based on first recorded data from EMS records was performed. Outcome measures of hospital admission and need for physiologically stabilizing treatment in the emergency department also were performed. A total of 215 records were analyzed. One hundred thirty-nine (65%) patients were admitted from the emergency department or received physiologically stabilizing treatment in the emergency department. Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUROC) for hospital admission was 0.697 and for admission or physiologically stabilizing treatment was 0.710. No patient scoring<2 was admitted or received stabilizing treatment. Despite significant over-triage, this system could have diverted 79 patients safely from the emergency department to alternative, unscheduled, care providers.

The reconnaissance and early-warning optical system design for dual field of space-based "solar blind ultraviolet"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wen-cong; Jin, Dong-dong; Shao, Fei; Hu, Hui-jun; Shi, Yu-feng; Song, Juan; Zhang, Yu-tu; Yong, Liu

2016-07-01

With the development of modern technology, especially the development of information technology at high speed, the ultraviolet early warning system plays an increasingly important role. In the modern warfare, how to detect the threats earlier, prevent and reduce the attack of precision-guided missile has become a new challenge. Because the ultraviolet warning technology has high environmental adaptability, the low false alarm rate, small volume and other advantages, in the military field applications it has been developed rapidly. According to current application demands for solar blind ultraviolet detection and warning, this paper proposes a reconnaissance and early-warning optical system, which covers solar blind ultraviolet (250nm-280nm) and dual field. This structure takes advantage of a narrow field of view and long focal length optical system to achieve the target object detection, uses wide-field and short focal length optical system to achieve early warning of the target object. It makes use of an ultraviolet beam-splitter to achieve the separation of two optical systems. According to the detector and the corresponding application needs of two visual field of the optical system, the calculation and optical system design were completed. After the design, the MTF of the two optical system is more than 0.8@39lp/mm. A single pixel energy concentration is greater than 80%.

The Seismic Alert System of Mexico (SASMEX): Performance and Evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Espinosa Aranda, J.

2013-05-01

Originally the Seismic Alert System of Mexico (SASMEX) was proposed to integrate the Seismic Alert System of Mexico City (SAS), operating since 1991, with the Seismic Alert System of Oaxaca City (SASO), in services since 2003. And today, after the intense big earthquake activity observed in our world during 2010 and 2011, local governments of Mexico City, Oaxaca Estate, and the Mexican Ministry of the Interior have been promoting the expansion of this technological EEW development. Until 2012 SASMEX better coverage includes 48 new field seismic sensors (FS) deployed over the seismic region of Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan and Puebla, with someone enhancements over Guerrero and Oaxaca, to reach 97 FS. During 2013, 35 new FS has been proposed to SASMEX enhancements covering the Chiapas and Veracruz seismic regions. The SASMEX, with the support of the Mexico Valley Broadcasters Association (ARVM) since 1993, automatically issue Public and Preventive earthquake early warning signals in the Cities of Mexico, Toluca, Acapulco, Chilpancingo, and Oaxaca. The seismic warning range in each case is seated in accordance with local Civil Protection Authorities: Public Alert, if they expect strong earthquake effects, and Preventive Alert one, the effect could be moderated. Now the SASMEX warning time opportunity could be different to the 60 sec. average typically generated when SAS warned earthquake effects coming from Guerrero to Mexico City valley. Mexican EEW issued today reach: 16 Public and 62 Preventive Alert in Mexico City; 25 Public and 19 Preventive Alerts in Oaxaca City; also 14 Public and 4 Preventive Alerts in Acapulco; 14 Public and 5 Preventive Alerts in Chilpancingo. The earthquakes events registered by SASMEX FS until now reach 3448. With the support of private and Federal telecommunications infrastructure like, TELMEX, Federal Electric Commission, and the Mexican Security Ministry, it was developed a redundant communication system with pads to link the different Cities, trough VHF and UHF radio signals, Fiber Optics, and Satellite technologies, to reach more reliability and availability SASMEX functions and services. To increase the seismic early warning efficiency the Mexico City Historical Center Authorities, promoted the installation of the NOAA VHF radio transmitters system to cover the Mexico City valley, operating with the Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) called NWR-SAME, and with the Emergency Alert Systems (EAS) protocol of United States. As an enhancement of the NOAA receiver protocol, it was innovated to permit fast Public Alert issue, in no more than 2 sec. The new receiver applied in Mexico is called SARMEX™. Local and federal authorities acquired 90,000 SARMEX™ receivers to be distributed manly in public schools of Mexican cities covered by the SASMEX™ signals; the measure with the aim to promote better natural hazard prevention attitude in the Mexican young population segment.

The Warning System in Disaster Situations: A Selective Analysis.

DTIC Science & Technology

DISASTERS, *WARNING SYSTEMS), CIVIL DEFENSE, SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, REACTION(PSYCHOLOGY), FACTOR ANALYSIS, CLASSIFICATION, STATISTICAL DATA, TIME ... MANAGEMENT PLANNING AND CONTROL, DAMAGE, CONTROL SYSTEMS, THREAT EVALUATION, DECISION MAKING, DATA PROCESSING, COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS

Drug offence sentencing practices in the United States of America.

PubMed

Weissman, J C

1984-01-01

The United States criminal justice system, in response to a variety of risks, makes available a range of options to help control drug offenders. Pre-arrest diversion, pre-trial diversion, pre-trial release, probation, split sentencing, warn release, incarceration and parole release are alternative dispositions involving a graduated scale of punishment, incarceration, specific deterrence and rehabilitation. New drug offence sentencing policies are emerging within the criminal justice system. Traditional values of rehabilitation are currently less favoured and contemporary doctrines advocate sentencing based on principles of uniformity and retribution. Drug law sentencing practices are a principal concern of this article and the major policy themes are systematically reviewed. Diversion, criminal responsibility, selective incapacitation, trafficking, and cocaine abuse are examined. Guidelines for policy development are recommended and the analysis covers the related concepts of sentencing ideology, decriminalization, and determinate sentencing models. Specific recommendations are offered for revision of drug offence sentencing policies to incorporate the emerging penal values.

Emergence of new norovirus variants on spring cruise ships and prediction of winter epidemics.

PubMed

Verhoef, Linda; Depoortere, Evelyn; Boxman, Ingeborg; Duizer, Erwin; van Duynhoven, Yvonne; Harris, John; Johnsen, Christina; Kroneman, Annelies; Le Guyader, Soizick; Lim, Wilina; Maunula, Leena; Meldal, Hege; Ratcliff, Rod; Reuter, Gábor; Schreier, Eckart; Siebenga, Joukje; Vainio, Kirsti; Varela, Carmen; Vennema, Harry; Koopmans, Marion

2008-02-01

In June 2006, reported outbreaks of norovirus on cruise ships suddenly increased; 43 outbreaks occurred on 13 vessels. All outbreaks investigated manifested person-to-person transmission. Detection of a point source was impossible because of limited investigation of initial outbreaks and data sharing. The most probable explanation for these outbreaks is increased norovirus activity in the community, which coincided with the emergence of 2 new GGII.4 variant strains in Europe and the Pacific. As in 2002, a new GGII.4 variant detected in the spring and summer corresponded with high norovirus activity in the subsequent winter. Because outbreaks on cruise ships are likely to occur when new variants circulate, an active reporting system could function as an early warning system. Internationally accepted guidelines are needed for reporting, investigating, and controlling norovirus illness on cruise ships in Europe.

Emergence of New Norovirus Variants on Spring Cruise Ships and Prediction of Winter Epidemics

PubMed Central

Depoortere, Evelyn; Boxman, Ingeborg; Duizer, Erwin; van Duynhoven, Yvonne; Harris, John; Johnsen, Christina; Kroneman, Annelies; Le Guyader, Soizick; Lim, Wilina; Maunula, Leena; Meldal, Hege; Ratcliff, Rod; Reuter, Gábor; Schreier, Eckart; Siebenga, Joukje; Vainio, Kirsti; Varela, Carmen; Vennema, Harry; Koopmans, Marion

2008-01-01

In June 2006, reported outbreaks of norovirus on cruise ships suddenly increased; 43 outbreaks occurred on 13 vessels. All outbreaks investigated manifested person-to-person transmission. Detection of a point source was impossible because of limited investigation of initial outbreaks and data sharing. The most probable explanation for these outbreaks is increased norovirus activity in the community, which coincided with the emergence of 2 new GGII.4 variant strains in Europe and the Pacific. As in 2002, a new GGII.4 variant detected in the spring and summer corresponded with high norovirus activity in the subsequent winter. Because outbreaks on cruise ships are likely to occur when new variants circulate, an active reporting system could function as an early warning system. Internationally accepted guidelines are needed for reporting, investigating, and controlling norovirus illness on cruise ships in Europe. PMID:18258116

49 CFR 393.51 - Warning signals, air pressure and vacuum gauges.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... the vehicle's service brake system. The warning signal must meet the applicable requirements of... September 1, 1975, must meet the brake system indicator lamp requirements of FMVSS No. 571.105 (S5.3..., must have a warning signal which operates before or upon application of the brakes in the event of a...

75 FR 26269 - Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment for the Integrated Public Alert and Warning Program's...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-11

...] Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment for the Integrated Public Alert and Warning Program's... from construction- related actions taken under the Integrated Public Alert and Warning Program (IPAWS... Order 13407, Public Alert and Warning System, by providing robust and survivable power generation, fuel...

Impact of social preparedness on flood early warning systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Girons Lopez, M.; Di Baldassarre, G.; Seibert, J.

2017-01-01

Flood early warning systems play a major role in the disaster risk reduction paradigm as cost-effective methods to mitigate flood disaster damage. The connections and feedbacks between the hydrological and social spheres of early warning systems are increasingly being considered as key aspects for successful flood mitigation. The behavior of the public and first responders during flood situations, determined by their preparedness, is heavily influenced by many behavioral traits such as perceived benefits, risk awareness, or even denial. In this study, we use the recency of flood experiences as a proxy for social preparedness to assess its impact on the efficiency of flood early warning systems through a simple stylized model and implemented this model using a simple mathematical description. The main findings, which are based on synthetic data, point to the importance of social preparedness for flood loss mitigation, especially in circumstances where the technical forecasting and warning capabilities are limited. Furthermore, we found that efforts to promote and preserve social preparedness may help to reduce disaster-induced losses by almost one half. The findings provide important insights into the role of social preparedness that may help guide decision-making in the field of flood early warning systems.

14 CFR 23.703 - Takeoff warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: NORMAL, UTILITY, ACROBATIC, AND COMMUTER CATEGORY AIRPLANES Design and Construction Control Systems § 23.703 Takeoff warning system. For commuter category airplanes, unless it can be shown...

14 CFR 23.703 - Takeoff warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: NORMAL, UTILITY, ACROBATIC, AND COMMUTER CATEGORY AIRPLANES Design and Construction Control Systems § 23.703 Takeoff warning system. For commuter category airplanes, unless it can be shown...

An integrated earthquake early warning system and its performance at schools in Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Bing-Ru; Hsiao, Nai-Chi; Lin, Pei-Yang; Hsu, Ting-Yu; Chen, Chiou-Yun; Huang, Shieh-Kung; Chiang, Hung-Wei

2017-01-01

An earthquake early warning (EEW) system with integration of regional and onsite approaches was installed at nine demonstration stations in several districts of Taiwan for taking advantages of both approaches. The system performance was evaluated by a 3-year experiment at schools, which experienced five major earthquakes during this period. The blind zone of warning was effectively reduced by the integrated EEW system. The predicted intensities from EEW demonstration stations showed acceptable accuracy compared to field observations. The operation experience from an earthquake event proved that students could calmly carry out correct action before the seismic wave arrived using some warning time provided by the EEW system. Through successful operation in practice, the integrated EEW system was verified as an effective tool for disaster prevention at schools.

Forests and Phenology: Designing the Early Warning System to Understand Forest Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierce, T.; Phillips, M. B.; Hargrove, W. W.; Dobson, G.; Hicks, J.; Hutchins, M.; Lichtenstein, K.

2010-12-01

Vegetative phenology is the study of plant development and changes with the seasons, such as the greening-up and browning-down of forests, and how these events are influenced by variations in climate. A National Phenology Data Set, based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer satellite images covering 2002 through 2009, is now available from work by NASA, the US Forest Service, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This new data set provides an easily interpretable product useful for detecting changes to the landscape due to long-term factors such as climate change, as well as finding areas affected by short-term forest threats such as insects or disease. The Early Warning System (EWS) is a toolset being developed by the US Forest Service and the University of North Carolina-Asheville to support distribution and use of the National Phenology Data Set. The Early Warning System will help research scientists, US Forest Service personnel, forest and natural resources managers, decision makers, and the public in the use of phenology data to better understand unexpected change within our nation’s forests. These changes could have multiple natural sources such as insects, disease, or storm damage, or may be due to human-induced events, like thinning, harvest, forest conversion to agriculture, or residential and commercial use. The primary goal of the Early Warning System is to provide a seamless integration between monitoring, detection, early warning and prediction of these forest disturbances as observed through phenological data. The system consists of PC and web-based components that are structured to support four user stages of increasing knowledge and data sophistication. Building Literacy: This stage of the Early Warning System educates potential users about the system, why the system should be used, and the fundamentals about the data the system uses. The channels for this education include a website, interactive tutorials, pamphlets, and other technology transfer methodologies. Achieving Context and Meaning: To provide deeper meaning and knowledge about the Early Warning System to users, this stage of the Early Warning System provides more information about specific examples of disturbances seen in the phenological data, as well the spatial and temporal context to these disturbances. The main components of this stage are specific case studies of forest disturbances. Accessing Data: This component of the Early Warning System includes products for research scientists, the aerial detection survey sketch mapper community, and others who will access and analyze the Early Warning System and phenological data. Products and data will be available through online GIS mashups and WMS and KML downloads. Utilizing Services: The final stage of the Early Warning System supports the analysis of phenological data and serves the results to those end users, including forest managers, the forest industry, and the public, who need to locate past, present, and potential forest disturbances. The main components of this stage include data-driven web tools, automated analysis processes, and end user training programs.

An alternative method to measure the likelihood of a financial crisis in an emerging market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Özlale, Ümit; Metin-Özcan, Kıvılcım

2007-07-01

This paper utilizes an early warning system in order to measure the likelihood of a financial crisis in an emerging market economy. We introduce a methodology, where we can both obtain a likelihood series and analyze the time-varying effects of several macroeconomic variables on this likelihood. Since the issue is analyzed in a non-linear state space framework, the extended Kalman filter emerges as the optimal estimation algorithm. Taking the Turkish economy as our laboratory, the results indicate that both the derived likelihood measure and the estimated time-varying parameters are meaningful and can successfully explain the path that the Turkish economy had followed between 2000 and 2006. The estimated parameters also suggest that overvalued domestic currency, current account deficit and the increase in the default risk increase the likelihood of having an economic crisis in the economy. Overall, the findings in this paper suggest that the estimation methodology introduced in this paper can also be applied to other emerging market economies as well.

A national survey of obstetric early warning systems in the United Kingdom: five years on.

PubMed

Isaacs, R A; Wee, M Y K; Bick, D E; Beake, S; Sheppard, Z A; Thomas, S; Hundley, V; Smith, G B; van Teijlingen, E; Thomas, P W

2014-07-01

The Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths in the UK have recommended obstetric early warning systems for early identification of clinical deterioration to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. This survey explored early warning systems currently used by maternity units in the UK. An electronic questionnaire was sent to all 205 lead obstetric anaesthetists under the auspices of the Obstetric Anaesthetists' Association, generating 130 (63%) responses. All respondents reported use of an obstetric early warning system, compared with 19% in a similar survey in 2007. Respondents agreed that the six most important physiological parameters to record were respiratory rate, heart rate, temperature, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and oxygen saturation. One hundred and eighteen (91%) lead anaesthetists agreed that early warning systems helped to prevent obstetric morbidity. Staffing pressures were perceived as the greatest barrier to their use, and improved audit, education and training for healthcare professionals were identified as priority areas. © 2014 The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.

Emergency Situation Prediction Mechanism: A Novel Approach for Intelligent Transportation System Using Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

PubMed Central

Gokulakrishnan, P.

2015-01-01

In Indian four-lane express highway, millions of vehicles are travelling every day. Accidents are unfortunate and frequently occurring in these highways causing deaths, increase in death toll, and damage to infrastructure. A mechanism is required to avoid such road accidents at the maximum to reduce the death toll. An Emergency Situation Prediction Mechanism, a novel and proactive approach, is proposed in this paper for achieving the best of Intelligent Transportation System using Vehicular Ad Hoc Network. ESPM intends to predict the possibility of occurrence of an accident in an Indian four-lane express highway. In ESPM, the emergency situation prediction is done by the Road Side Unit based on (i) the Status Report sent by the vehicles in the range of RSU and (ii) the road traffic flow analysis done by the RSU. Once the emergency situation or accident is predicted in advance, an Emergency Warning Message is constructed and disseminated to all vehicles in the area of RSU to alert and prevent the vehicles from accidents. ESPM performs well in emergency situation prediction in advance to the occurrence of an accident. ESPM predicts the emergency situation within 0.20 seconds which is comparatively less than the statistical value. The prediction accuracy of ESPM against vehicle density is found better in different traffic scenarios. PMID:26065014

[Evaluation and analysis of monitoring and early warning functions of the occupational disease reporting system in China].

PubMed

Zhu, Xiaojun; Li, Tao; Liu, Mengxuan

2015-06-01

To evaluate the monitoring and early warning functions of the occupational disease reporting system right now in China, and to analyze their influencing factors. An improved audit tool (ODIT) was used to score the monitoring and early warning functions with a total score of 10. The nine indices were completeness of information on the reporting form, coverage of the reporting system, accessibility of criteria or guidelines for diagnosis, education and training for physicians, completeness of the reporting system, statistical methods, investigation of special cases, release of monitoring information, and release of early warning information. According to the evaluation, the occupational disease reporting system in China had a score of 5.5 in monitoring existing occupational diseases with a low score for release of monitoring information; the reporting system had a score of 6.5 in early warning of newly occurring occupational diseases with low scores for education and training for physicians as well as completeness of the reporting system. The occupational disease reporting system in China still does not have full function in monitoring and early warning. It is the education and participation of physicians from general hospitals in the diagnosis and treatment of occupational diseases and suspected occupational diseases that need to be enhanced. In addition, the problem of monitoring the incidence of occupational diseases needs to be solved as soon as possible.

Analysis of Risk Compensation Behavior on Night Vision Enhancement System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hiraoka, Toshihiro; Masui, Junya; Nishikawa, Seimei

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) such as a forward obstacle collision warning system (FOCWS) and a night vision enhancement system (NVES) aim to decrease driver's mental workload and enhance vehicle safety by provision of useful information to support driver's perception process and judgment process. On the other hand, the risk homeostasis theory (RHT) cautions that an enhanced safety and a reduced risk would cause a risk compensation behavior such as increasing the vehicle velocity. Therefore, the present paper performed the driving simulator experiments to discuss dependence on the NVES and emergence of the risk compensation behavior. Moreover, we verified the side-effects of spontaneous behavioral adaptation derived from the presentation of the fuel-consumption meter on the risk compensation behavior.

Timing of new black box warnings and withdrawals for prescription medications.

PubMed

Lasser, Karen E; Allen, Paul D; Woolhandler, Steffie J; Himmelstein, David U; Wolfe, Sidney M; Bor, David H

2002-05-01

Recently approved drugs may be more likely to have unrecognized adverse drug reactions (ADRs) than established drugs, but no recent studies have examined how frequently postmarketing surveillance identifies important ADRs. To determine the frequency and timing of discovery of new ADRs described in black box warnings or necessitating withdrawal of the drug from the market. Examination of the Physicians' Desk Reference for all new chemical entities approved by the US Food and Drug Administration between 1975 and 1999, and all drugs withdrawn from the market between 1975 and 2000 (with or without a prior black box warning). Frequency of and time to a new black box warning or drug withdrawal. A total of 548 new chemical entities were approved in 1975-1999; 56 (10.2%) acquired a new black box warning or were withdrawn. Forty-five drugs (8.2%) acquired 1 or more black box warnings and 16 (2.9%) were withdrawn from the market. In Kaplan-Meier analyses, the estimated probability of acquiring a new black box warning or being withdrawn from the market over 25 years was 20%. Eighty-one major changes to drug labeling in the Physicians' Desk Reference occurred including the addition of 1 or more black box warnings per drug, or drug withdrawal. In Kaplan-Meier analyses, half of these changes occurred within 7 years of drug introduction; half of the withdrawals occurred within 2 years. Serious ADRs commonly emerge after Food and Drug Administration approval. The safety of new agents cannot be known with certainty until a drug has been on the market for many years.

Early warning system for aftershocks

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bakun, W.H.; Fischer, F.G.; Jensen, E.G.; VanSchaack, J.

1994-01-01

A prototype early warning system to provide San Francisco and Oakland, California a few tens-of-seconds warning of incoming strong ground shaking from already-occurred M ≧ 3.7 aftershocks of the magnitude 7.1 17 October 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake was operational on 28 October 1989. The prototype system consisted of four components: ground motion sensors in the epicentral area, a central receiver, a radio repeater, and radio receivers. One of the radio receivers was deployed at the California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS) headquarters at the damaged Cypress Street section of the I-880 freeway in Oakland, California on 28 October 1989 and provided about 20 sec of warning before shaking from the M 4.5 Loma Prieta aftershock that occurred on 2 November 1989 at 0550 UTC. In its first 6 months of operation, the system generated triggers for all 12 M > 3.7 aftershocks for which trigger documentation is preserved, did not trigger on any M ≦ 3.6 aftershocks, and produced one false trigger as a result of a now-corrected single point of failure design flaw. Because the prototype system demonstrated that potentially useful warnings of strong shaking from aftershocks are feasible, the USGS has completed a portable early warning system for aftershocks that can be deployed anywhere.

Hydrologic ensembles based on convection-permitting precipitation nowcasts for flash flood warnings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demargne, Julie; Javelle, Pierre; Organde, Didier; de Saint Aubin, Céline; Ramos, Maria-Helena

2017-04-01

In order to better anticipate flash flood events and provide timely warnings to communities at risk, the French national service in charge of flood forecasting (SCHAPI) is implementing a national flash flood warning system for small-to-medium ungauged basins. Based on a discharge-threshold flood warning method called AIGA (Javelle et al. 2014), the current version of the system runs a simplified hourly distributed hydrologic model with operational radar-gauge QPE grids from Météo-France at a 1-km2 resolution every 15 minutes. This produces real-time peak discharge estimates along the river network, which are subsequently compared to regionalized flood frequency estimates to provide warnings according to the AIGA-estimated return period of the ongoing event. To further extend the effective warning lead time while accounting for hydrometeorological uncertainties, the flash flood warning system is being enhanced to include Météo-France's AROME-NWC high-resolution precipitation nowcasts as time-lagged ensembles and multiple sets of hydrological regionalized parameters. The operational deterministic precipitation forecasts, from the nowcasting version of the AROME convection-permitting model (Auger et al. 2015), were provided at a 2.5-km resolution for a 6-hr forecast horizon for 9 significant rain events from September 2014 to June 2016. The time-lagged approach is a practical choice of accounting for the atmospheric forecast uncertainty when no extensive forecast archive is available for statistical modelling. The evaluation on 781 French basins showed significant improvements in terms of flash flood event detection and effective warning lead-time, compared to warnings from the current AIGA setup (without any future precipitation). We also discuss how to effectively communicate verification information to help determine decision-relevant warning thresholds for flood magnitude and probability. Javelle, P., Demargne, J., Defrance, D., Arnaud, P., 2014. Evaluating flash flood warnings at ungauged locations using post-event surveys: a case study with the AIGA warning system. Hydrological Sciences Journal, doi: 10.1080/02626667.2014.923970 Auger, L., Dupont, O., Hagelin, S., Brousseau, P., Brovelli, P., 2015. AROME-NWC: a new nowcasting tool based on an operational mesoscale forecasting system. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 141: 1603-1611, doi:10.1002/qj.2463

14 CFR 23.703 - Takeoff warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: NORMAL, UTILITY, ACROBATIC, AND COMMUTER CATEGORY AIRPLANES Design and Construction Control Systems § 23.703 Takeoff warning system. Link to an amendment published at 76 FR 75757, December 2...

14 CFR 23.703 - Takeoff warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: NORMAL, UTILITY, ACROBATIC, AND COMMUTER CATEGORY AIRPLANES Design and Construction Control Systems § 23.703 Takeoff warning system. For all airplanes with a maximum weight more than 6,000...

Using Quality Improvement to Introduce and Standardize the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) for Adult Inpatients at a Children's Hospital.

PubMed

Conway-Habes, Erin E; Herbst, Brian F; Herbst, Lori A; Kinnear, Benjamin; Timmons, Kristen; Horewitz, Deborah; Falgout, Rachel; O'Toole, Jennifer K; Vossmeyer, Michael

2017-03-01

The population of adults with childhood-onset chronic illness is growing across children's hospitals and constitutes a high risk population. National Early Warning Score (NEWS) is among the most recently validated adult early warning scores (EWSs) for early recognition of and response to clinical deterioration. Our aim was to implement and standardize NEWS scoring in 80% of patients age 21 and older admitted to a children's hospital. Our intervention was tested on a single unit of our children's hospital. The primary process measure was the percentage of NEWS documented within 1 hour of routine nursing assessments, and was tracked using a run chart. Improvement activities focused on effective training, key stakeholder buy-in, increased awareness, real-time mitigation of failures, accountability for adherence, and action-oriented response. We also tracked the distribution of NEWS values and medical emergency team calls. The percentage of NEWS documented with routine nursing assessments for patients age 21 and over increased from 0% to 90% within 15 weeks and remained at 77% or greater for 17 weeks. Our distribution of NEWS values was similar to previously reported NEWS distribution. A nurse-driven adult early warning system for inpatients age 21 and older at a children's hospital can be achieved through a standardized EWS assessment process, incorporation into the electronic health record, and charge nurse and key stakeholder oversight. Furthermore, implementation of an adult EWS being used at a pediatric institution and our distribution of NEWS values were comparable to distribution published from adult hospitals. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Electronic rumble strip

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stauffer, Donald R.; Lenz, James

1997-02-01

Single vehicle run-off-road accidents are responsible for significant numbers of injuries and fatalities, and significant property damage. This fact spurs interest in warning systems to alert drivers that vehicles are drifting towards the edge of the road, and that a run-off road accident is imminent. An early attempt at such a warning system is the use of machined grooves on the shoulder to create a rumble strip. Such a system only provides warning, however, as the vehicle actually leaves the traffic lane. More desirable is a system that warns in anticipation of such departure. Honeywell has under development a magnetic lateral guidance system that couples a sensitive magnetoresistive transducer with a magnetic traffic marking tape being developed by 3M. While this development was initially undertaken for use in automated highways, or for special tasks such as guiding snowplow owners, the system can provide an effective, all-weather warning system to provide alert of impending departure from the roadway. This electronic rumble strip is actually a simpler system than the baseline guidance system, and can monitor both distance from the traffic lane edge and the speed of approach to the edge with a low cost sensor.

Lessons from Hawaii: A Blessing in Disguise.

PubMed

Deitchman, Scott; Dallas, Cham E; Burkle, Frederick

2018-03-20

On January 13, 2018, Hawaii experienced an erroneous alert that falsely warned of an imminent ballistic missile strike. Rather than focus on the inconvenience caused by the false alert, we used reporting of the event to identify the missing elements that would characterize a system that could save lives by alerting and informing the public in a nuclear detonation. These include warnings that contain essential information rather than directing recipients to secondary sources; a system that issues alerts directly from federal agencies that will have the earliest warning; a robust multimodal alerting system that can deliver messages before and after the detonation; and swift activation of federal agencies immediately upon warning.

32 CFR 806b.27 - When to include a Privacy Act warning statement in publications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... include the Warning Statement when publications direct collection of the Social Security Number, or any part of the Social Security Number, from the individual. The warning statement will cite legal authority and when part of a record system, the Privacy Act system of records number and title. You can use...

32 CFR 806b.28 - Warning banners.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Warning banners. 806b.28 Section 806b.28... PROGRAM Privacy Act Notifications § 806b.28 Warning banners. Information systems that contain information... subject to the Privacy Act will have warning banners displayed on the first screen (at a minimum) to...